Wishing Star
by Faerlyte
Summary: Five years have passed since meteor, and Tifa is bored and lonely. That is until an unlikely person comes along. TifaSephiroth Complete
1. Chapter 1: Late Night Brawls

**Chapter 1: **_Late Night Brawls_

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything except the plot (as far as I know).

This is my first time and it took every bit of courage I had to finally put this story on here. It's almost finished right now, but I figure I better post the first chapter and see if people actually like it. No flames please (constructive criticism is ok though)! This is told from Tifa's point of view. Here goes! Enjoy!

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Five years had passed since meteor and Sephiroth. We, the members of Avalanche, split up and went our seperate ways while still keeping in touch over the holidays and such. The world had settled down and all was peaceful. Not to mention boring.

I frowned at the beer glass in my hand and scrubbed it harder. What was I doing here serving drinks at a bar? I help save the world and this is what I end up doing afterwards? With a sigh I placed it on the shelf and reached for another, brushing aside a pesky lock of brown hair.

This was my bar in Nibelheim which had been built courtesy of the left over funds from my days in Avalanche. Although this town held painful memories, it was a link to the past that I wasn't ready to leave behind. This was my home. The ground was the same ground that I'd been raised on all those years ago. I had to face the memories sooner or later and I just assumed it be sooner.

The last beer glass glistened in my hand and I set it neatly on the shelf with the rest. I looked up at the clock. It was almost 8. Anna would be here very soon to help me, but for now I would be holding down the fort.

I stepped out from behind the counter, grabbing a rag on my way and started scrubbing tables. They weren't really dirty, but there was nothing else to do. "Baby you're all that I want when you're lying here in my arms. I'm finding it hard to believe, we're in heaven." I sang and danced around with a silly grin on my face, not completely sure where the tune came from and certainly not carig. "And love is all I need, and I found it there in your heart. It isn't too hard to see...we're in heaven."

A gentle whine met my ears and I abruptly lifted my gaze to the door as it swung open on creaky hinges. I remained still, watching. Relief washed over me when a lone cloaked figure stepped inside. _Not thieves, good._ They had a habit of coming around and starting fights, and it seemed to be occurring more frequently as of late. I was always on edge at night, especially when I was alone.

The man didn't appear to be anyone I knew, though it could have been Cid undearth and I wouldn't have recognized him. The black cloak he wore concealed most of his features. He was fairly tall, his postre impeccably straight, and he had a smooth, agile stride that spoke of some variant of combat training.

"Hello." I offered the stranger a smile, despite the question lingering in the back of my mind.

He simply nodded and sat down in a shady corner of the large room.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked and made a subtle pass at peeking under his hood, to no avail. It wasn't every day that I had a hooded stranger enter my bar. Years of experience had ingrained in me an innate suspicion of those disguising themselve in black cloaks.

"No." He answered quietly and tilted his head downwards so that it was impossible for me to see his face. His voice was vaguely recognizable and seemed to strike a chord that sent a shiver up my spine.

"Well, give me a yell if you change your mind. Iv'e got nothing else to do right now." I told him with a bored sigh and returned to the bar, dumping the rag in the sink._ He doesn't seem particularly dangerous,_and that in itself was reason to be wary. _  
_

Again I heard the door open and I jerked around, perhaps a little too quickly. I reached out to grab the bartop and steady myself. The cloaked figure's head had turned at my violent reactio and I felt a warm blush in my face. My hand gripped the counter tightly. A slender young woman with blonde hair and brown eyes slipped inside. She wore an oversized raincoat, which left a trail of water in her wake as she crossed the room.

My shoulders relaxed reflexively, "Hello Anna. How is your evening?"

"Fine," She replied distractedly, her expression worried. "Is everything alright?" She asked and hastened to my side, hanging her coat up behind the bar. "Are you worried about them coming back?"

"Oh, just a little." I answered through a strained smile. "We should have hired a bouncer." I muttered pensively and sighed without meetig her gaze. "One of these days they aren't going to just leave."

Anna's eyes glazed over grimly. "I know."

"Sometimes I really hate running bars." I confessed and scowled at my finger nails, idly noting that they were due for a trim.

"Is there anything I can do?" The girl asked hopefully.

For a moment I didn't even realize she had spoken. I was too preoccupied with my thoughts. My hands had absentmindedly slipped into the pocket of my leather shorts and pulled out Premium Heart. _Just incase._

"Tifa?" Her gaze made an apprehensive pass over my fighting gloves. She was not especially fond of violence and the sight of them made her nervous.

"Sorry." I blinked and shook myself back to reality, flashing a reassuring grin for her benefit. "There isn't much to be done right now. I've cleaned all the glasses and the tables that didn't need to be cleaned. Unless you'd like to wash them over again?"

She laughed. "I'll pass. Didn't we get another brew in yesterday?"

"Oh, that's right! I completely forgot." I exclaimed, snapping my fingers. "It's in the box in the center of the storage room, can you get it?"

"Sure." She replied and disappeared down the hall.

My eyes returned to the bar entrance as I pulled on my gloves and flexed my fingers. I despise theives, especially when I couldn't prove that they were what they were. They came here to stir up trouble and coax ladies into their circle. Their hands were always drifting to places they should't be, and they would ignore her verbal warnings.

A labored gasp sounded out from behind me, jolting me out of my thoughts again. I turned around int time to catch Anna struggling hopelessly with the box as it began to slip from her grasp. In two swift bounds I had the box securely in my hands.

"Whew!" She gasped, her arms falling lax at her sides in exhaustion. "That was heavy." She laughed nervously.

I smiled. "I've got it." I said and carried it the rest of the way. Poor Anna was a frail thing. I'd have to protect her from anyone trying to take advantage, which only added to the stress of my job.

I walked through another door and into our freezer room where I set the box down. "Let's put them in this one." I nodded to one of the fridges and proceeded loading it with the contents of the box.

"Ok." Anna agreed and was soon at my side, helping.

Anna was oddly quiet as we stacked the bottles inside. So quiet it was making me uneasy. "Anna, what is it?" I asked, watching her from the corners of my eyes.

She stopped, wringing her hands nervously. "Well…t-there were some guys hanging around outside town when I came in here. They watched me as I entered the bar. I could see four, but there might've been more... It looked like they were up to something." She trailed off. "But I'm sure it's nothing."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked, straightening slowly.

"I-I didn't want to worry you, that's all." Anna replied. "Should-"

Anna was cut short by the violent crack of the door being thrown up to slam against the wall. The building gave shudder and my eyes hardened gravely. "Let's go." I said quietly, not even looking in her direction as I began the march into the fiasco that awaited me.

My assistant trembled behind me as we walked back into the bar. She huddled just off my right, daring only to glance around my shoulder and nothing more. Her fingers gradually reached out to gripped my arm tightly as the newest arrivals came into view.

Six men had sat down at two of the nearby tables. They watched us with beedy eyes that hid nothing of their obvious interest and I had a sudden undeniable urge to punch someone. The leader wasn't a large man, but he was fit, his gaze sharp. His eyes were dark, his skin golden brown, and his brown hair was tied up in a green bandana. A golden earring pierced his right ear and a saber hung loosely at his hip.

I had no urge to greet them. In fact, I wanted to toss them out right here and now, but I couldn't simply do that without reason. There was no doubting what they were; they bore the similar markings and colors of their respective guild, but that wasn't enough.

One man signaled for the waitress and Anna slid bravely out from behind me. I was a bit shocked as she approached them, her hands shaking uncontrolably. I know how much she hated this. Every time she was out there working they found some way to touch her or make a snide remark, but she always took it.

I watched them. The leader caught my eye abruptly, giving me a start. Anna was right, this was no simple stop at the bar for a few drinks and possibly a young willing girl. There was something in the leader's eyes that told me otherwise. Or my mind could possibly be fabricating the worst case scenario from the feeling of intense fear now gnawing at the pit of my stomach.

This was going to be one hell of a night, I thought and turned away, gathering myself. I made a fist with my hand, admiring the gloves I so rarely used now. I'd no doubt they would see battle tonight, but would it be enough? I'd taken on 6 men before, but they had been imbeciles when it came to fighting. It was better to have a reliable companion, which at the moment I was all out of. No offense to poor Anna, but she was not made for fighting.

As Anna turned to leave a hand snaked out to grab her from behind. She jumped a foot in the air and nearly tripped as she stumbled out of his grasp and back to the bar. The men chuckled amongst themselves with amusement as they watched her.

_That is not acceptable, _my teeth grated_._ "If you wish to stay here you will abide by my rules." I snapped. "That includes keeping your hands off the waitress and shutting your mouth if you have nothing important to say."

The leader leaned back lazily in his chair, his face a smooth mask of indifference. "Those are mighty boastful words coming from 1 against 6."

"I've overcome much worse." I retorted. "The slums of Midgar contained the slimiest vermin alive and I'm still here."

He squinted at me then, the wheels spinning in his head. "It _is_ you!" He laughed and slapped the table. "You're the one who owned the bar in 7th heaven." His smile turned venemous. "Pity a plate got dropped on it, eh?"

My hands clenched into fists furiously. "Yes." I returned coolly. "It's a pity you weren't under it too."

He shrugged. "Maybe so, but no matter now. Would've been a shame for a woman like you to be buried."

My lips parted in an inarticulate sound of disgust.. The last thing I wanted was to be admired by him. That would get me into no end of trouble. _Ha, _who was I kidding? I was already in all kinds of trouble, not the least of which being my lonesome against six of them.

The door slammed open again. I literally levitated off the ground this time. My eyes widened incredulously. Six more men sauntered inside, only to pull up short abruptly as they met the hostile glares of those already seated.

Two obviously opposing thieve guilds had managed to bring their confrontation on my doorstep.

I let my head fall limply onto the table, making a loud thud. _Why me?_ Suddenly my bar was the center of attention for every criminal in a 2000 mile radius. I really should have hired bouncers.

One man stepped forth, thick and brood shouldered, and probably stupid too. His eyes didn't reflect of someon particularly bright. "Diego!" He barked and a vein throbbed along his forehead. "This is our territory!"

Diego, the leader of the first group, slowly stood up from his chair, one hand finger the hilt of his saber. "Jacob, what an unpleasant surprise. But I'm afraid you are mistaken. This is our territory and we plan to keep it."

Anna inhaled sharply from behind me and I felt hands clamp around my wrist. My circulation was slowly being cut off, in fact. "T-T-Tifa!" She stammered. "What should we do?"

I snorted. "Sit back and hope they kill each other."

She gasped behind me. "That's horrible!" She exclaimed.

Her high-pitched voice carried rather loudly across the room and all attention had suddenly shifted back to me.

"Anna, you're drawing attention." I murmured quietly through clenched teeth. I cleared my throat, the pressure of a dozen pairs of expectant eyes bearing down on me all the while. "This _bar _is mine, so take your quarrels elsewhere or I'll personally evict all of you." _Now watch the entire room break into hilarious laughter._

Diego smirked dryly. "You still don't get it, do you? It's you we're here for, nothig else. This business here is very important to us. Not to mention that ass of yours is _fine__, _and such a fiery personality to go with it too, but I digress." His eyes sparkled. "Every king needs a queen, love. How else would we keep our numbers thriving?"

There was a collective snigger from Diego's table that made my blood run cold.

_Nice ass, huh?_ "You and yours can rot in hell for all I care." I said calmly. "Now get out, before I throw you out."

Diego frowned. "That's a shame." He spoke with mock regret, shaking his head. "Such a waste of woman."

The smooth surface of a beer bottle slipped beneath my hands from under the counter. My fingers wrapped around it tightly. This was going too far I decided. The bottle was abruptly hurdling towards the unsuspecting party where it shattered against his face, the glass cutting his skin as the contents streamed down the front of his chest.

He let out an unmanly shriekd, one hand reaching towards his mangled face as he spun furiously at his men. "Idiots! Grab her!'

Jacob and his men stepped in the way. "She's coming with us."

I leaned over to whisper in Anna's ear, keeping an eye on the proceedings. "Go on, get out of here."

"But-" She began to protest.

"Go! Get help if you can." I said sternly and gave her a push towards the back door. The battle had already begun, judging by the amount of shouting and groaning I could hear from behind us.

"Ok." She relented quietly and made a run for it. Unfortunately Diego saw her, and despite the injuries he'd sustained, he caught her. His fist connected solidly with her face and she crumpled to the floor.

"Anna!" My heart skipped a beat, but there was no time as Diego was now sizing me up. I cracked my knuckles, my jaw tightening as I faced him. "You said you wanted me...well come and get me then."

He grinned wolfishly. Blood trickled down his face from the deep gashes along his cheeks. "Oh I shall." His hand reached for the saber at his side and slid the weapon out of its scabbard with ease.

_Don't panic just yet._ _It isn't like you haven't fought someone with a sword before, Tifa_. It'd been a long time since I'd fought anyone and longer still since that someone had a sword. If he was skilled, he would be trouble.

He was fast. I found that out very soon as he lunged at me, barely missing with the tight sweep of his blade. Each attack he made was swift and controlled, and I was juts barely able to evade him. He kept me at a distance so as not to afford me a chance to retaliate.

The man knew what he was about clearly. I waited patiently though. Eventually he would make a mistake and I would be ready.

He took another swipe and I caught him by the wrist without a conscious thought. I spun into him, driving my elbow into his nose and his head reeled back with a sickening crunch. A roundhouse kick knocked him back against the wall, dislodging his sword in the process, which now lay on the ground several feet away.

I jumped to action immediately, grabbing it in my own hands, and threw it well beyond his reach behind me. Sure, it was a sword, but I hadn't the faintest clue how to use it. I just didn't want _him _to have it.

He wiped the blood from his mouth as he got to his feet. "Well, I'm impressed." He admitted, grudgingly so, and next thing I knew he was on the attack again. A hail of punches came my way with just barely enough time for me to block them. He went for a low kick and I jumped, stricking back with a counter attack. He hit the ground with another resonating thud.

I never heard or saw him, only felt the sudden pain in the back of my head as I was hit. The blow knocked me to my knees and I wavered dizzily, the ache filling my brain and clogging my senss. Whoever my assailant was didn't finish the job though, and I was able to recover. When I turned, I locked gazes with Jacob, theother guild leader.

This man was a sloth and a soon to be victim of my speed. A sluggish punch went past my head and I countered with a jab to his nose, followed by another series of puches. He blocked most of them, but I was driving him back, leaving him no opportunity to sneak in a blow. My defense was too strong and his too slow. I landed a low kick behind his knees and he buckled, hitting the floor with a groan.

I whirled around just in time to duck another fist. The miss put my attacker off balance and slipped in with a strike to his stomach. The man doubled over, gaspig for breath. I kicked up under his chin, caught his esophagus and heard a crunch. He fell to the ground strangling, his hands clawing at the air as he died.

When I turned to face my next foe, I caught a fist in the stomach and I crumpled to the floor. The pain paralyzed me as I lay there, unable to think or move. My arm was gripped tightly and wrenched behind me before I was yanked to my feet. I cried out and struck out wildly with everything I had_._ My elbow burried into his ribs hard and he let go with a painful expulsion of air.

This time I turned and kicked him in the face, clipping his jaw. His head jerked back, but he recovered quickly and caught my ankle in the midst of a follow up attack. I felt myself twisting in the air and landing hard on the ground. The air was knocked out of me from the landing and I gazed dazedly at the floor beneath me.

Two pairs of arms lifted me off of the ground. At first I hung limply, but as soon as I felt their hold slacken I moved. My captors were soon lying groaning on the floor, their hands rubbing tenderly at their heads. Unfortunately, I was still surrounded.

Several bodies were sprawled across the ground, most of them Jacob's men. Those who remained of his group had mysteriously gone to Diego's side now that Jacob appeared to be dead. He lay on the ground bleeding from a knife in the chest.

"What are you waiting for?" Diego shouted. "Get after her!"

They came at me all at once, a giant unorganizd mob that got in its own way. I fended them off for quite some time, sending a few men flying out of the pile, but I was tired and there were too many.I began to notice blood, not theirs, but mine, seeping from wounds I hadn't realized were there until know. There was a cut above my left eye from a dagger, someone punched me in the side and I fell.

Diego spat to the side. "You're a big pain in the ass you know." He said. "Nice show though."

"Release her." A voice interrupted from suddenly not so far away. The cloaked figure from earlier stood but a few feet away, waiting. For a moment, I thought I must be hallucinating. I'd completely forgot he was even here. _He sure took his sweet time, _came to mind_. _

Diego's eyes narrowed on the cloaked figure. "Who the fuck are you?" He snarled with a tiny waver.

"Do not make me repeat myself." The man spoke with a quiet ferocity that was tangible to the skin.

That voice was so familiar and yet...not. _  
_

One of Diego's men tossed him a knife and he curled his lip. "Alright ya fucking hero, you want me to release her?" He began to approach the cloaked figure, twirling the dagger about dangerously in his hand. "Then take her from me."

In the blink of an eye the cloaked figure had produced an enormously long sword, knocking the knife out of the man's hand, and poising the tip of the blade at his throat. The mystery man's cloak lay on the ground by his feet, long silver hair falling about his shoulders and brilliant mako green eyes gazing pointedly at his opponent. "You were saying?" He prompted.

The entire room seemed to freeze in place. My lips parted in disbelief, horror, and confusion as I stared at a man who was supposed to have been dead for five years. The man who was currently saving my life… _What-the-hell. _ It was so bizarre I could barely fathom it, the way he stood there, familiar, but alien. There was no mistaking who he was.

_It's not possible. _But no matter how many times I blinked, the scenery didn't change and the man in front of me didn't mysteriously disappear. He was flesh and blood,and he was here now for reasons that couldn't be explained.

The men holding me let go unexpectedly and I abruptly crashed to the ground. I heard the slamming of the door as they all fled, and then the whistle of a sword followed by the dull thud of something solid hitting the floor. I lay still, tired and bruised, and afraid. _Maybe if I refuse to acknolwege his existence, he simply won't be there?_

My body ached and my head was throbbing. Something didn't feel right. Maybe I was hallucinating?

A gloved hand appeared before me. I eyed it with intense displeasure and defiantly pushed myself to my feet without it. _Ah, why not? Let's throw all caution to the wind. It's not like I have a chance of coming out of this alive anyway. Might as well die on my feet._

Sephiroth let his hand fall back at his side unperturbed. "Are you alright?" He asked.

It was the oddest thing to hear coming from his lips. "I'm alive." I answered warily and kept a good distance between us, watching him.

"You took a lot of damage." He commented with a shrug.

"You could've stepped in any time." I pointed out acerbically.

His eyes sparkled with faint amusment. "I couldn't help but enjoy the display." He explained. "You held yourself well. Quite well indeed."

"Quite well?" I laughed dryly and crossed my arms. "I feel like I've been hit by a truck." I muttered.

"You were severely outnumbered. What do you expect?" He scoffed as something drew his attention. "You might want to tend to your friend."

I swore, having forgotten the Anna had taken a serious hit early in the fight, and bounded over the bodies as I approached her still form. "Bastards." I grumbled and 'accidentally' kicked a dead man in the face. I knelt down beside Anna's limp body and checked her for a pulse, just to make sure. It was strong, to my relief and I sat back.

Her eyelids twitched and a soft moan escaped her lips.

"Anna?" I encouraged.

She opened her eyes and looked around, appearing slightly dazed. "Where am I?" She asked and looked at me. "Tifa! You're ok!"

"Yes, I'm fine. What about you?" I asked, pulling her to a sitting position.

"My head hurts." She answered oddly. Her eyes widened and she gave a little shriek. "Oh my god!"

I twisted around, expecting to see Sephiroth standing there, but he was gone. _Where did he go and so quietly?_ I frowned darkly. I was not finished with him yet.

"Tifa, oh my! This is...it's ghastly!" She gasped and scrambled to her feet. "T-there are bodies everywhere!" She shuddered at the blood that glistened on the floor, shrinking back in horror.

"I know. Go alert the rest of the village. We're going to need help cleaning up the mess." I said tiredly and got to my feet.

"Ok." She replied andleft in haste.

My eyes closed and I stood there motionless for quite some time. The battle had almost been invigorating, up until the point where I was losing it. It reminded me of the old days when I had purpose in my life. Why hadn't I gone out into the world and traveled? There were plenty of adventures to be had, and yet, I was here...wasting away.

The scent of blood hung thick in the air and dragged me back to the present. I laced my fingers through my hair with agitation. Seven bodies lay on the ground. Four belonged to Jacob's men as far as I could see, two were Diego's men and the last was Deigo's body. His head lay on the ground not far away.

My stomach gave an uncomfortable twist and I looked away from the grotesque sight.

I chewed my lip absentmindedly and stooped down to grab Diego's body. As I dragged it across the floor and put it to the side I noticed a tattoo of a snake on his bloodied arm. _So that's where they'd come from, the Diamond Back gang from Midgar. Small world.  
_

Minutes passed and most of the bodies were in a pile, and still Sephiroth did not come. I was hoping he might drop by and explain what was going on, or maybe make himself useful. He probably didn't trust me, or maybe he was off devising some devious plan for world domination again. Not that stepping in to rescue me made sense. Really, he had dropped in to say hello in probably the nicest way that was possible.

I kicked a chair angrily. I had really wanted to hit him. He wasn't supposed to be here, and I _certainly _wasn't supposed to go about like it was normal for him to show up out of the blue and save my hide. Where was the animosity? The hatred? It wouldn't have been a successful attack grant it, but at least I would have felt better knowing I tried to avenge...well, avenge what had already been avenged.

Something was missing though...the satisfaction perhaps. The insanity wasn't there, the thirst for power...the arrogance. I paused at the last bit to reconsider. Oh the arrogance was still there, I mused dryly - he was Sephiroth after all.

No matter how much my memories played at my mind I had to grudgigly admit that he _probably _wasn't on a murdering rampage of death and destruction, judging by very recent events. I wasn't happy about it, but something was clearly different. He may not be the world's kindest and loving person, but he wasn't a psychopathic bastard bent on human genocide...he was just a bastard.

The door creaked open and I looked up slowly. In came Anna, followed by every person in the village, minus the children of course. There were several gasps and moans, and one woman fainted. I lifted one scrutinizing brow and tried not to appear too irritated.

We spent the rest of the night hauling the bodies out of town under the pouring rain. All I wore was a white top, leather vest, and shorts that came down just above my knees. The rain outside was cold against my skin and a sharp breeze chilled to the bone.

I was relieved to escape back into the bar where the fire still burned. There was more work to do here, but at least it was warm. Blood covered the floor, most of it from Sephiroth's decapitation of Diego. What a mess it left. Not to mention it was 11 at night and getting later.

Everyone had gone home as per my insistence. This was my establishment after all, it was my responsibility to clean, not theirs. I walked sluggishly over to the counter to fill a bucket with water and soap, and gave the floor a hopeless look.

..._this is the night that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friends...Gods above, _I thought, _I've lost my mind. _

With shoulders slumping and a sigh on my lips, I got down on my knees and started to scrub the floor. It was covered in waterproof finish at least, but it was still toilsome washing off the blood. Some of it had already begun to dry and took twice the effort to clean. My arms were aching so badly that they could barely move.

Halfway done, I staggered to my feet and went to dump the bucket. The reddened water sloshed into the sink, spattering the surounding area including myself. I washed out the rag, filled up the bucket with clean water and headed back to the floor.

Tired, tired, tired...

There was a knock on the door and I slumped to a halt. "Who is it?" I drawled impatiently. _Unless you're hear to help, please go away... _

The door creaked open and silver strands of hair fluttered inside as Sephiroth stepped into the light, closing the door behind him. "Why are you still here?" It was not so much a question as it was a demand.

So he _had_ stayed. "I've got to work tomorrow." I answered dismissively and set back to scrubbing. "Can't have blood all over the floor. Not good for business, you know." I pushed myself to my feet and couldn't help but stagger. "I feel fine." I lied.

His eyes followed me casually, as if waiting for something. When I tried to take a step and nearly collapsed, I understood. His lips gave a faint twitch and he arched a sigle brow, the smugness practically reeking from him, but he said nothing. He didn't need to.

My chin jutted forth defiantly. "If I don't clean it up now it might never come out. I sent the rest of the town home...not their job." I yawned, my head lulling tiredly to the side. "Something about the smell...can't remember."

I couldn't remember what I was supposed to be talking about all of a sudden.

"You're a mess." He stated bluntly.

"Huh?" I asked, confused. "What do you mean?" The scent in the air made me want to throw up. A spell of dizziness struck and the room was suddenly spinning. I took a step, my strength failed me and I fell.

...softly into a waiting embrace. I stared down at the floor curiously. I seemed to be hovering above it, slung over a strong arm.

"Just fine, are you?" His words caressed my ear from not so far away as he steadied me . "You should have that cut on your forehead looked at."

"I…haven't…had time." I gasped for breath and closed my eyes. "And I _am_ fine, not that it's any of your business. That was…that was just the smell in the air making me dizzy." I pulled away from his grasp, eyeing him hostilely.

"Stubborn girl." He muttered.

"What are you doing here? What do you want from me?" I burst out angrily. "You should be dead - no one could survive that, not even you. I watched you die."

Sephiroth merely shrugged. "It is a long story." He hedged. "I was passing through here. Ordinarily I would've been long gone by this time, but circumstances demanded an exceptionly, namely your present condition."

"My present condition?" I repeated shrilly. "My present condition is your fault...my _present condition _is the result of what you did."

"Very well, I will concede the fault is partly mine." He replied cordially. "But in all fairness, I cannot reasonably take credit for this steadfast determination you have to work yourself into exhaustion."

I scoffed. "What do you know?"

"I've been watching you." He supplied. "And I know when a person has reached their breaking point."

I whirled around at him, "What?"

"Spying is a specialty of mine, along with reading minds and emotions on occasion." His lips perked slightly up at that. The sparkle in his eyes told the lie however.

"Well you can just leave my mind alone." I snapped. "You've got a lot of nerve coming in here and saving my life."

"You just can't stand it can you?" He said and the smugness returned in full force. "What are you going to do? Attack me? You can barely stand."

I stood rigid, glaring down at the floor while I tried to decide what to do. "No, I'm not going to attack you. Even if I can't find any logical explanation for you being here, you saved my life." I said picking up my bucket and rag. I nearly fell again. "That is all the thanks you'll get from me." I looked up at the clock. "You can leave now. I won't say aything." I gestured vaguely to the debries litering the floor. "I've got work to do."

"What does one have to do to convince you otherwise?" Sephiroth inquired.

Bittersweet laughter filled the room, "No one has ever really tried." I answered and dumped the contents of the bucket in the sink. A dull pain on my forehead made me stop. I traced my hand along my skull and felt out a gash. It stung when I touched it and I jerked my hand away.

As I stood there I knew that something was wrong - this was no simply injury. How odd that I should be soaking wet from the rain, and yet the room felt like a furnace suddenly. _Maybe I should get some rest and tend to my wounds_. Another dizzy spell hit and the delirium set in with a vengeance. That was no mere cut on my forehead.

My legs gave out and this time there was no one to catch me. Everything went black the moment I touched the floor.

* * *

**Author's notes: **Gee I wonder if anyone can tell where this is going. I smell Tifa/Sephiroth paring! HAHAHAHA! Please don't hurt me! Read and enjoy! Review all you want! …Or ignore it…you can do that too.

Happy days everyone, take care.

Faerlyte


	2. Chapter 2: The Adventure Begins

**Chapter 2: **_The Adventure Begins_

* * *

My eyes fluttered open to darkness. 

_  
Where am I?_

I felt a soft mattress beneath me, a warm blanket tucked under my chin, and towels wrapped around my body. I sat up, idly rubbing my forehead. The wound was gone completely, I noted, and I was no longer sore. After a quick glance about I realized, to my surprise, that I was in my very own bedroom.

_But how did I get here?_

For an instant I had the fleeting thought that perhaps it had all been a horrible nightmare and none of the earlier events had truly transpired. Then someone moved by the window, startling me ouf of my reverie. I jumped in surprise as two glowing mako eyes caught my own from the darkest corner of the room.

"You've awakened. I'd thought you'd sleep longer than that." Sephiroth spoke up quietly.

"W-what happened?" I asked, blinking away exhaustion and bewilderment.

"One of your wounds had been lightly poisoned. That's why you passed out I imagine." He answered. "I took you here and tended to the damage."

"Oh." I said blankly and commenced vigorously chewing my lower lip. "Thank you."

"I suppose you expected I'd leave you there." He murmured nonchalantly.

"I don't know what I'd expected. I was kind of hoping it was all a bad dream." I sat up slowly and sighed inwardly. "It _is_ a bit strange though. Pardon me for saying, but you never struck me as a very compassionate person. Even when you weren't a raving lunatic."

"That's because I'm not." He responded coolly. "But do bare with me milady. That is how I was made to be. It's a miracle I didn't turn out worse."

"Have you just been waiting here all this time then?" I asked, peering curiously at my bedside clock. It was 3 a.m.

"Yes." He replied.

"What for?" I asked. "Aren't you tired?"

"I have no place to stay and wanted to be sure you healed properly." He answered. "Besides, I'm bored."

I crossed my arms and looked up at him quizzically. "I see. So…how are you here? And why?"

He averted his gaze to the window, sighing impatiently as he crossed his arms over his chest. "If you'd bothered to read Hojo's journals you would have known that I was blessed with immortality through his twisted experimentation. I don't know how he did it. It probably has something to do with Jenova's cells though." He explained drably. "As for my reason for being here in Nibelheim? I'm just passing through. I spent the last 5 years waiting for my strength to recover enough so that I might be able to leave the bloody nuisance of a crater. Now that I am strong enough I've come to the surface, and I have no intention of going back any time soon."

Immortal... Somehow I wasn't surprised. My eyes narrowed. "What do you plan on doing on the surface?" I pried suspiciously.

He smirked at the uneasy waver in my voice. "Just some traveling. You needn't worry about my intentions. I assure you I have no desire to harm anyone who isn't already dead."

"Isn't already dead?" I echoed nervously. _What is that supposed to mean?_

He grinned. "I'd gladly murder Hojo if he were still alive, and Gods help me I'd kill him slowly too." He seethed. "You should get some rest."

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I shrank back into the pillows. He sounded slightly terrifying when he talked that way. "I see." I answered roughly. "Well, there's another bedroom across the hall if you want to rest here."

"I appreciate it." He nodded and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

I sat there for what felt like decades, thinking about what had happened in the last few hours. My hand absentmindedly felt along the slender scar that ran across my abdomen; the scar he had inflicted. He killed my father and burned down my village, and he killed Aeris, and yet I'd just offered him lodging in my house. What had gotten into me? That was a question I couldn't fathom an answer to. The worst thing was, he insisted on being unbearably kind, making it harder and harder to hate him.

After some careful thought on the matter, I realized that the reason I allowed him to be here was because I didn't recognize him. When he revealed his identity in the bar, I saw someone else there. I saw the Sephiroth that I hardly knew, so much like the man that I'd met before everything had gone wrong 11 years ago. Could it justify all that he'd done though? I wasn't sure, but I felt myself wanting to forgive him. Five years of having chosen to forgive the dead evidently had softened me. At this moment, I owed him a lot. So I could pretend, at least for this brief while, that he could change.

My eyelids dropped lazily and I found myself drifting off to sleep again.

The next morning, I awoke to bright beams of sunlight pouring into my room through the windows. I yawned and swung my legs over the side of the bed. My clothes had dried over night, to my delight, and I felt on top of the world.

I peeked over the edge of the bed to find my boots set neatly beside it. My fighting gloves sat on the bedside table. I slipped them on hastily and was fumbling with my shoe laces when I noticed the clock. 8 a.m.? My breath caught in my throat. The bar was supposed to have been opened an hour ago!

I scowled and sluggishly waved my hand. _Forget it. I don't feel like opening the bar today or tomorrow or the next day._ What I felt like was an adventure, but…adventures weren't near as fun when you were alone. God how I missed my friends and Cloud… I missed him the most. A memory flashed before my eyes.

_**- **One month after meteor…_

_ Cloud held me by the hand, practically dragging me through the City of the Ancients. His face was a picture of pure happiness and bliss, his lips curved into a wide smile. He knew she'd be here and that was the reason I was scrambling to keep up.  
_

_ When we rounded the last corner that lead to crystal pool, we both came to a sudden stop. For a moment I couldn't believe my eyes, for there sat the flower girl herself on a nearby boulder, smiling. Her eyes brightened as we hestiantly approache, and she bounced to her feet.  
_

_ "Aeris!" Cloud and I exclaimed in unison. Up till now, I wasn't completely sure she would be here. Cloud was right.  
_

_ She came towards us stopping only a few feet away. "Hello." She said brightly with a little wave. "I'm so glad to see you two again. I only wish the others could have come too, but I understand."_

_ Cloud came forward grabbing her hands in his. Love shown in his eyes like none that I'd ever seen. It shined with a brillance that shamed the very sun. That same love was in Aeris's eyes as well. It was amazing to see something so…beautiful. Despite the heart piercing pain I felt I couldn't deny that they were a match, and one that deserved happiness. I always thought that kind of thing only existed in fairy tales, but here I stood witnessing it before me. _

_ Aeris turned her head towards me. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Tifa…" She spoke softly and looked away again as if unable to look into my eyes any longer. "Cloud, there's something I want to ask you, and it might be difficult to answer."_

_ "What is it?" He inquired eagerly..  
_

_Aeris swallowed hard. "Will you come to the Promise Land with me? I've been given permission to ask you. This will be your only chance and once you go you can't come back." She seemed to tremble with apprehension as she fell silent, waiting.  
_

_ Cloud nodded silently. He barely even gave it a thought.  
_

_ That was what he wanted. I knew it was, and yet he suddenly hesitated. _

_ His deep blue eyes turned to me in question. "Tifa…" He started._

_ "Go on." I insisted."You have something very special and rare. Don't let it go because of me. I want the best for both of you. Just don't forget that you have a special place in all our hearts. Both of you do."  
_

_ For the last time we embraced._

_ "Thank you." He whispered into my ear and let me go._

_ "We will have to go soon." Aeris said with a sigh. "I'll miss you Tifa." She pulled me into a tight hug. It was hard not to cry right then. "You won't always be alone Tifa." Then she pulled away and took Cloud's hand in hers. "If you're ever in need of help, come here.."_

_ I nodded. "Take care."_

_ "Goodbye." She said with a smile and waved again._

_ "Bye Tif." Cloud smiled._

_ "Bye." I said quietly as they slowly disappeared. Cloud was gone… I'd finally let him go, but I didn't feel much better. In truth, a burden had been lifted, but I'd just lost a best friend. Two best friends actually, and only a month had passed since meteor. I'd never felt so completely alone in my entire life.  
_

_As I turned away from the pool and started up the path, the tears began to flow in rivers down my cheeks. I hope you're right, Aeris…**-**_

I pushed the memories aside and shoved myself off the bed. Thinking about that only made me feel hopelessly depressed. I collected the towels that I'd slept on over the night and stacked them neatly on the foot of the bed. At least Sephiroth was respectful enough to not undress me. I smirked dryly.

The sound of a door creaking open from across the hall caught my attention. Soft footsteps resonated from beyond my door and slowly descended down the stairs. My eyes narrowed and sprang out of the room in hot pursuit.

_Oh no you don't._ I hurled myself down the stairs after him, my boots hitting the bottom as his hand reached for the door. The room seemed to freeze in place at the lound sound of my landing.

"Running away?" I asked, grinning at him with crossed arms. "Tell me it isn't so, that the greatest General in the world is running from I, Tifa Lockhart."

"I suppose I am." He shrugged and turned around. "But I must keep a low profile you understand."

"Of course, but that doesn't explain why you were sneaking out." I pointed out. "You can be awfully strange, you know that?"

He chuckled. "You're giving me far too much credit." He said. "What I am goes far beyond strange. I'm not even human."

_Well that rings a bell_. It is said that those words were the beginning of his insanity. He'd no longer thought he was human and basically lost his marbles. _Marbles…ha!_ Hearing him say that brought back unsettling memories though. Things that made me shiver involuntarily. It must have shown, for his expression suddenly changed into slight bewilderment.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"That's where it all began, isn't it." I murmured dourly. "That's how it started. Don't you remember? You freaked out in the reactor. I never saw what happened inside, but Cloud told me later. You snapped...because you were convinced that you were just like them, a monster; not human. " _Oh no, here I go._

Realization hit him and he stared at me blankly. "So it was." He answered. "However, Jenova did have her hand in it."

"Maybe if you hadn't gone crazy in the reactor you would have defeated her then and there, sparing the hurt and pain I had to suffer with so many others." I snapped bitterly. _No more miss nice girl_. "You're not running from me, you're running from the past. Well, you might as well not bother because it's not going to undo itself. You may not have made the command, but it was your hand that held the sword that killed my father and countless others, and nearly killed me."

His eyes flashed with anger._ Perhaps I've gone too far. There's always time for him to have second thoughts about saving my life. Maybe blowing up wasn't such a good idea?_

I looked away, unable to bare his heavy glare. It probably wasn't right for me to be so harsh. He had such a cruel past, which I knew very little of, mainly because I didn't _want_ to know. It scared me. Was it right to treat him this way after all he had to go through?

I found myself regretting what I'd just said, but what was done was done. There was no one else to blame; no one left, and he wasn't supposed to be here either. Now, all of a sudden everything I thought I'd put behind me had come full circle and slammed me in the solar plexus. What could I do?

He turned around, put on his cloak and went out the door, stopping only at the last minute. "Miss Lockheart, you've hit your mark and you've hit it well. I'm sorry." With that the door slammed shut and he left.

I stood there dumb struck and hurt. He made it sound like I meant to do him harm, and I hadn't, had I? Yes, I had mean to hurt him. It was malicious of me too, and I still did it. It felt good even at first, to rub in his face everything he had done wrong and all the things that people hated him for.

The aftermath was strikingly different however. Now I felt as if I'd lost Cloud all over again and that my life was sinking into the pits of despair. It was time to make a decision. _If he turns me down then…then I'll just give the bastard a piece of my mind and make him take me!_

Suddenly I felt much better.

I dashed up the stairs and into my room. Under the bed was a chest and I dragged it out. Pouches plump full of gill, items, weapons, bangels, materia, and everything else we'd collected during our travels lay beneath the lid. I loaded my materia slots, grabbing some extra and a few items too, and then I slid the chest back into its hiding place.

Now, where were my belt and suspenders from the old days?_ The closet,_ I thought, and threw open the doors. After a while of fruitless digging, I finally found them and strapped them on. Then I headed for the door where I stopped to gawk at my reflection in the mirror. _That would have to dealt with... _I spun around and stalked into the bathroom to comb my hair.

_Ok, all set._ I rushed back down the stairs, skipping the last 4 steps, and bolted on down the hall. I snatched my key from the counter where it so conveniently lay, and flew out the door, being sure to lock it on my way out.

When I reached the bar, Jonathan (part owner) was there serving drinks to a few visitors. I glanced at the floor to find that it was completely clean. He looked up at me and smiled. "Hey Tifa."

"Hi." I said, staring at him bewildered. _It wasn't possible. _"What are you doing here?"

"Taking over for you." He replied.

"Oh." I blurted out deliriously. The momentary confusion passed and I found my voice again, "Well Jonathan, I'm going. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'm going. If you want you can have the bar. I don't want it anymore. At least, not right now."

He grinned. "It's about time Tifa. Get out of here. We pretend not to notice, but everyone knows you miss fighting. Besides, you need to find someone to take care of you for a change. Ain't gonna do that by sittin' round here."

I blushed and gave him a bright smile. "Thank you." I said and left.

_Now, where did he go?_ A little voice in my head seemed to say 'the mountain path'. I looked back and forth between the entrance to town and the mountain path, trying to decide. I found myself agreeing with the mysterious voice and started off in a dead run towards the woods.

I stopped at a fork in the road. The path to the right was the safest way to the bridge. The left was a more dangerous way, but tens times quicker. After a moment's contemplation, I took the left path, carefully skimming along the sheer rock and gripping the crevices in the mountain as I went.

Ten minutes later I reached the bridge unscathed and sat down on a rock to wait as the sun beat down on my thoroughly sweat drenched figure. _He better have gone this way, otherwise I'm going to be really pissed._

Having nothing better to do I shifted my position to stare at the bridge and fathom up all the possible worse case scenarios that could befall me for this little stunt. That bridge had a lot of history too. Mainly that it broke every time someone set foot on it. Twice I'd fallen from the bridge, once with Cloud, and once with Sephiroth and his men. _Third time's a charm, anyone?_

I leaned back, stretching my legs and bathing in the sunlight. It was really a lovely day. No more boring home life. I was going to travel for a while and visit my friends. _Yes, I'd definitely visit my friends._

The sound of footsteps reached my ears and I turned around to meet the new comer. I swear Sephiroth nearly had heart attack when he saw me standing there. I'd even go as far as to say his feet had left the ground for an instant.

"Hello!" I piped up cheerily.

He blinked several times as he stared at me, trying to figure out if his eyes were playing tricks. He frowned deeply. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I took the left path. It's much quicker, but it can be dangerous if you're not careful." I informed him. "I know this place better than anyone though, and I've been up that path a thousand times."

"Yes, but...why are you here?" He demanded, looking thoroughly confused and more than a little disturbed by the sudden turn of events. Reality was slowly beginning to dawn, and it wasn't pretty on his face.

"Because…" I chewed my lip nervously and dug into the ground with the toe of my boot. "I don't want to stay here anymore and I'd like to visit my friends. I miss adventuring. Either I go with you or I go alone, but if you must know I'd much have some company, even if it is _you._"

A look of curiosity flashed behind his eyes. Our gazes locked and he watched me intently, as if searching for something.

My heart skipped a beat as he delved deeper into my thoughts and I felt suddenly naked before him. Then he turned away.. "If you wish to come, you may." He said finally. "As long as you behave."

"Really!" I blurted out unceremoniously and burst into a victory dance that would've made Yuffie proud. When I finally came back to earth and calmed down a bit, I found myself staring down the bridge again, harboring dark thoughts. "Now the bridge will probably break and I'll die." I frowned. "Or maybe not. I'm supposed to be optimistic about this sort of thing. I must be getting rusty."

Sephiroth shook his head slightly, rolling his eyes. "And you call me strange." He muttered and brushed past me. "I must be out of my mind."

"I heard that!" I yelled after him as he made his way across the bridge. I decided that it would be wise to wait for him to cross before heading across myself. At least he had the decency to stop at the other side and wait for me.

Memories came flooding back; memories of when I first fell and memories of when the bridge broke. At that point I was already half way and stopping was certainly out of the question. So I swallowed all the terror lumped in my throat and continued on.

When I reached the other side I never felt more relieved to walk on solid ground.

Then silence hovered like a plague in the air around us as we walked along, and it was starting to make me uneasy. "I think we should talk." I began. If we were going to be traveling together we should try and clear the tension that hung between us. Although, I wasn't sure just how we were going to talk about it.

"Where do we start?" He asked.

_Good question._ "I don't know." This was a very awkward situation. How does one start?

Sephiroth sighed. "As you said before, the past can't be changed. What happened 11 years ago was beyond my control after Jenova had defeated me." His voice twisted into bitter anger. "And yes I should have been able to resist her, but I was too weak."

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier." My eyes were transfixed on the ground. I couldn't' believe that I was actually apologizing.

"You needn't be." Sephiroth replied. "It was expected. I'm surprised by how mellow you are now. I had expected more…hostility."

I gave a harsh laugh. "I would have thought I'd be more hostile too, but when I look at you now I see someone else." I said quietly. "You aren't the same person that burned my home and killed my father. I had that same feeling 11 years ago. When I came after you with your own sword and you spun around to take it from me, what I saw startled me. It was like looking into the eyes of a complete stranger. I didn't understand it then. It seemed strange that you'd be two different people, but you were. You're the real Sephiroth and the other…the other was something terrifying and twisted." I stopped, pondering carefully for a moment a particular thought I had. "Although, I don't recall having a very favorible opinion of you to begin with."

Sephiroth absorbed what I said and seemed to lose him self in deep thought, remaining blissfully ignorant of the last comment. He continued to walk in that semi dazed state for some time and I was beginning to wonder if he'd ever come out of it.

"Sephiroth?" I echoed, searching for any hint of a reaction.

He turned his head slightly to look at me. "What?"

I looked away quickly. "Nothing really, you were just so quiet."

"I was only thinking about what you said." He replied. "Might I ask where Cloud is? I expected him to be here with you."

The words struck me like a physical blow, causing me to trip and stumble around a bit before regaining my composer. That wasn't a subject I wanted to have brought up. I took a deep breath, pushing away the bitter emotions that swelled in my throat, and became deeply interested in the ground beneath my feet. "Cloud's gone." I managed quietly. "He, uh...he went to the Promise Land with Aeris just a month after meteor."

"I see." Sephiroth replied slowly, watching out of the corners of his eyes. "Forgive me for asking."

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter." I responded. "Forget it." Unfortunately, my thoughts still hovered on the blonde haired childhood friend of mine. _Cloud…_ He and Aeris had found something so special. Would I ever find it, I wondered?_ I wish they were here_. There were so many things I wished. Had I made the right choice by going with Sephiroth? Was I playing at something dangerous? Perhaps, but that's why it was an adventure.

We came to a halt as three beasts trudged out onto the path in front of us. Instead of charging forward, I watched as the blur of Sephiroth sped past me with breathtaking speed, nearly spinning me around with the force of his charge. I found myself having trouble to keep up with his movements. He was so quick - unbelievably quick. All of his moves were smooth, powerful and perfectly executed. It was a wonder how Cloud managed to beat him.

My eyes widened briefly as the thought passed through my mind.

Then I snapped back to reality and found myself gaping at the three battered bodies lying on the ground at Sephiroth's feet. He stood by, complacently waiting as he dutifully cleansed the blood from his blade.

"I might as well just sit back and watch." I mumbled as I approached. "That was amazing." He seemed to know his enemy better than himself. "And I always thought I was fast." My shoulders slumped and I lashed out angrily at a rock. _That hurt. _

"That's because you are fast." Sephiroth replied drearily. "However, my physical abilities are greatly enhanced by the jenova cells in my body, not to mention I have the obvious advantage being male, whereas you are female."

I grunted haughtily, looking off to the side to avoid his annoying presence. _So, a sexist, are we? Ok, so he has a point, but there's nothing that says I have to admit it._

A question was praying on my mind and wouldn't go away though. How _had_ Cloud beaten Sephiroth?

"You wish to ask me something?" Sephiroth interjected as we walked.

"W-w-what?" I whirled around sharply in astonishment. "How did you know that?" My brow furrowed suspiciously.

His eyes gleamed with amusement. "I can sense and see many things that most cannot."

"Well I…I was just thinking that with the abilities you have, how did you lose to Cloud." I stammered.

He said nothing for a long time as he contemplated the answer. Finally he spoke. "There was still a small part of my sane self left that kept me from ever reaching my full potential against him, because I no longer wished to carry on under another's will."

I felt a pang of guilt in my heart. _How horrible_. I stole a side long glance at him. In that moment, I felt like someone had walked up to me and slapped me in the face. He looked saddened, an emotion that I'd never seen him express and never expected him to. It was startling, to say the least.

I found myself gawking at him unintentionally. My gaze trailed to his extraordinary silver hair. It never tangled and it was so lovely, though he'd probably scowl at the word. _I wish my hair was like that._

I turned away, instantly realizing that I'd been watching him for quite some time. Hopefully he hadn't noticed, but knowing him he probably did. At least he didn't appear to notice me watching him. Why is it all of a sudden my thoughts are centered on him anyway? I forced the disturbing question out of my mind and tried to concentrate on something else. It was a lot harder than I expected it to be. This was going to be one hell of a trip.

Rocket Town wasn't too far away. I'd be able to visit Cid and Shera, and maybe clear my mind up of all the gunk. It had been a while since I'd visited them and their daughter Melony.

* * *

**Author's notes**: Hmm… How was it? I'm not sure if it's good enough. Sigh, I'm too much of a perfectionist. Enjoy and review! I appreciate every review I get! Oh and I changed my settings so that people who aren't logged in or registered can review my story. Thank you Katsuhito Sage for telling me, I didn't know that it was on! 


	3. Chapter 3:Old Friends and Late Night Swi...

**Chapter 3:**_Old Friends and Late Night Swims_

**Disclaimer: **Just reminding everyone that I don't own FF7… ok you all knew that already, but oh well.

To all my reviewers: Thank you all very much! I'm happy to see that my story is liked so far. Most of my chapters should be posted up fairly quickly since the story is mostly finished (It's pretty long though). I'm still working on the end of it right now. Enjoy the next chapter.

* * *

We arrived at the edge of Rocket town at around 3 p.m. and stopped so that Sephiroth could pull his cloak back on for a meager disguise. 

After a quick inspection I nodded my approval. "Where's your sword?" I asked, peeking beyond the black folds of fabric. "How can something so large be so invisible?"

"It's on my back." Sephiroth answered curtly.

"Oh." I said blankly. "Isn't it awkward to walk with something so large and heavy on your back?"

"No." He replied with a hint of irritation.

"I suppose it isn't that heavy to you since you seem to wield it around like a pencil when it's more like an anvil to me." I mused and walked in to town with Sephiroth trailing at my heels for the first time since the start of the trip. I came to a stop at the center pf the street and turned to face him. "I'm going to visit Cid and Shera. I don't know how long I'll be gone. Where can I find you?"

"I'll find you." He replied.

I frowned. "Oh, ok then. Bye for now." _This better not be some cheap way of getting rid of me._

He nodded and vanished into the nearest pub. I turned towards Cid and Shera's house. Nothing seemed to have changed since I was last here. The Highwind was parked out back behind the house beside the old rocket launching pad, unused yet still gleaming with pride. A large grin crossed my face as I stepped up to their door and knocked. _It's been a while…_

"Who the hell is at our goddamn door!" Cid bellowed. "Stupid sons of-"

"Cid!" Shera cried. "If you go on like that you'll wake Melony up, not to mention scare who ever it is away. They probably heard you!"

"So?" Cid prompted.

Loud footsteps clamored to the door. The handle twisted violently and a rush of warm air plummeted into me as it swung open.

"What the fuc- Tifa!" Cid did a double-take, wide-eyed and red in the face. "How...?"

"Hello!" I beamed brightly.

"Tifa?" Came Shera's voice as she crept up behind her sputtering husband. Her lips curved into a bright smile. "It _is_ you! How wonderful!"

Cid suddenly grinned. "Well, aint this a pleasant surprise! Come in!" He yanked me inside and slammed the door shut.

I turned to face them, combing a few strands of hair behind my ear. "I hope I'm not interrupting. I was in town and I thought I'd come visit. Home has been a little boring lately, so I've decided to do some traveling."

"Damn good thing too." Cid nodded sternly. "You're a fighter Tif, always have been always will be. You don't belong in some stuffy house. It's about time you came and visited us anyway. How long can ya stay?"

"Probably till 8 or 9 p.m." I answered.

"Have a seat." Shera said, pulling out a chair. "Would you like something to eat or drink? We've got tuna fish sandwiches in the fridge if you're hungry."

"She'll have some tea." Cid barked. "You can bring those sandwiches out too."

I smiled lightly. _He never changes, _I thought. "That sounds great."

"What kind of tea would you like?" Shera asked from the kitchen.

"Lipton would be fine, with lemon and honey." I replied, propping my elbows on the table and resting my chin in my hands. "How is everyone? Is Melony giving you a hard time?"

"Horrendous." Cid growled.

"Cid." Shera chastized from the kitchen and stormed into the living room. "I'll tell you who's a handful." She scowled and jabbed a finger directly at Cid. "That lazy blond man over there that I call my husband is a handful!"

Cid's eyes popped out of their sockets. "Lazy blond- wait a damn minute!"

Shera had already disappeared into the kitchen.

"That bad?" I giggled.

She glided back into the room a moment later with a steaming cup in her hand and a smile on her face. "I might be exaggerating a bit. Cid's only real bad habit is his atrocious cursing." She sent him a death glare and placed the tea on the table before me. "Our daughter certainly won't learn good manners from him."

Cid grunted. "Manners, shmanners."

Shera tossed her arms into the air, exasperated. "And he encourages it! That's the worst part."

"Well, a good cuss word can let off a lot of steam, ya know?" Cid protested. He grinned widely. "She'll be able to out cuss anybody! Now that's something to be proud of. Besides, it might scare away all those boyfriends she'll end up having when she's older."

"Cid, she's four." I smiled, shaking my head. "Maybe you should wait a little while before teaching your daughter bad habits. That kind of thing might get her thrown out of school."

"Who needs school when she can learn from her father?" Cid scoffed.

Shera and I stared at him blankly for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter.

He looked back and forth between us, his forehead wrinkled in a scowl. "What?" He demanded. "What's so funny? You don't think I'm smart enough or something? What's the joke?"

"Oh forget it Cid." Shera chuckled lightly and headed back to the kitchen. "It's just that Melony may not want to learn about mechanics."

"So?" Cid asked in bewilderment. "What's that got to do with it?"

I smirked. "Do you know anything that doesn't have to do with mechanics?"

"Sure!" Cid answered sternly. "English blows goats."

Another fit of giggles seized me and I almost choked on my tea.

"Hell will freeze over before you home school our daughter." Shera said coolly and placed a plate full of sandwiches in front of us. "I'm going to go wake her up. I'll be right back."

"Ok, thanks for the tea and tuna fish." I called. My arms snaked across the table and snatched a sandwich from the plate. I leaned back in my chair and glanced over at Cid to find him watching me intently.

"You ok, Tif?" He asked with concern evident in his eyes.

"I'm fine." I answered uneasily, taking another sip from my tea._ Perfecto._ Sweet and tangy.

I sighed and set the cup down. "I had some trouble in my bar last night. Some mountain theives came in and got into a brawl. It's been getting worse lately. It seems that my bar is sitting on the line that divides two opposing gangs. I, unfortunately, was the reason they'd come last night. Something about needing more female members..."

Cid's knuckles turned white as he slammed his fist on the tabletop. "Why those no good, piece of shit, mother fuckers!" He seemed about to get up off his chair and charge out the door after them. "I'll kill 'em!"

"It's alright Cid." I intervened calmly, hoping to settle him down. "Everything's fine now. Someone...ah, somenoe came and rescued me." _I wish I could tell you who, _I thought to myself dolefully. It felt like I was lying to him by not telling him, but I couldn't. It was much too dangerous.

"So, ya got yerself a boyfriend, eh?" His eyes glimmered mischievously.

"Don't be silly!" I blushed. _If only you knew... _"It's not like that at all. He's...he's an aquaintance from the past, that's all." I groaned and laced my fingers through my hair in aggravation. "Cid?" _I have to tell him something. _

"Yeah?" One brow perked up curiously.

"I can't tell you who he is just yet." I began carefully. "I want to, but I'm afraid that you won't understand right now. You'll find out sooner or later I know. When you do, can you promise me that you'll trust me?"

To my astonishment he smiled. "Sure Tifa. I'll trust you. I'd trust you with my life." His eyes flickered with a peculiar light, as if he already knew what was going on. "It's obvious you care about him, whoever he is." He snickered.

I immediately opened my mouth to protest, but was interrupted by the sound of a four year old's high pitch squealing. I spun around abruptly in my chair to see the short blue-eyed girl with brown hair standing next to her mother, literablly vibrating with anticipation.

"Tifa!" She cried exuberantly and bullrushed into my arms.

"Hello Melony." I managed with an armful of girl, and tickled her gently. "How's my girl?"

"Good." She giggled.

"That's good." I said, smiling. "Are you behaving?"

Melony nodded vigorously.

"She's taken quite a liking to you Tifa." Cid noted. "You wanna keep her?"

"Cid." Shera drawled threateningly.

Cid's eyes darted all around the room frantically, as if looking for someone. "What? Who? where?" He asked, feigning a dramautized ignorance. "I don't see him."

Melony let go of me abruptly and scrambled over to her father. "Here, here, here!" She yelled excitedly, her finger extend towards him. "You don't really wanna get rid of me, do ya?" Her eyes got really big and her bottom lip stuck out.

Cid grinned and scooped her up into his arms. "Of course not. I'm just teasing." He grinned.

Shera took a seat next to me.

"Do you think I can use your shower?" I asked hopefully. "If it isn't any trouble to you, that is."

"Oh that's no problem at all. Go right ahead. There are towels and washcloths in the cupboard. Shampoo and conditioner are in the shower." She said. "If you want I'll get the stuff for you."

"Don't worry about it just yet. I'll do it later." I replied. "I'd rather catch up with you guys first."

"Alright." Shera smiled.

* * *

I hadn't had that much fun in months. It was times like these that reminded me how important my friends really were to me. I was lucky to have them for friends. They were all I had left now and it was about time that I start appreciating them being there instead of locking myself away. 

Time had gotten away from me though and it was late. My anxieties grew with each passing hour, as I wasn't sure that Sephiroth wouldn't just leave me here. If anything, I wanted to keep an eye on him and his movements, but with Melony clinging to me the whole while, and Cid and Shera insisting that I spend the night I just barely got out at 9 p.m. At least I had time in between the visit to take my shower.

As I walked down the street I gazed upwards to find the sky laden with stars. It was a beautiful, clear night, and it brought a peaceful smile to my face. I headed for the edge of town while a gentle breeze stirred my bangs about and sent shivers up my spine. _A beautiful night, but a cold one too,_ I thought. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying in vain to keep in the heat as I walked.

"You can stop now." Came a smug voice from the shadows.

I jumped with a start and spun around sharply. A wave of relief washed over me as I recognized the mako green eyes staring back at me from the darkness. "Damn it Sephiroth, don't do that!" I huffed. "You scared the living daylights out of me."

"Pardon me." He replied. "I'm staying outside of town for the night. Will you spend the night in the inn?"

"Of course not!" I retorted, planting my hands on my hips defiantly. "What do you think I am, a wimp?"

"No. Here." He handed me his cloak. "You'll need it if you're planning on spending the night out here. Wimp or not, you'll be cold in that outfit."

I slipped the cloak around my shoulders awkwardly and relished in the warmth his body had left behind. "Um, thank you."

Sephiroth started off, his sword now dangling from his waist, while I trailed behind him rather blindly. It seemed to me that he was getting farther and farther ahead of me with each step. No matter how hard I tried to keep up I always ended up tripping and falling behind.

I tried picking up some speed and was just starting to make up ground when my foot caught a tree branch, vaulting me across the ground where I eventually stopped in a bruised heap.

"Ow." I moaned and rolled over onto my back, sighing. _This is really starting to annoy me_.

My ears picked up the sound of footsteps approaching, but at the moment I felt no motivation to move. Sephiroth's eyes glided into my line of sight then. I groaned and pushed myself up to a sitting position, carefully avoiding his penetrating stare..

"Careful." He said stoically, grasping my hand and pulling me to my feet without warning. "Is there a problem?"

"I can't seem to see, if that's what you're wondering." I answered irritably, brushing dirt off of my legs..

"We're almost there." He assured me and started off once more, a little slower this time.

I was able to tag along beside him at the speed he was going, but I still felt blind. Four steps later my foot caught on something else for the billionth time. Sephiroth's hand snatched my arm as I began my swift plummet to the ground, and pulled me smoothly back to my feet. He said nothing and continued on, still holding onto me.

Walking wasn't any easier really, but at least he was there to keep me from falling all the time. Which was more nerve wracking than it was helpful. To be so close to someone I had spent my life despising was unsettling, to say the least.

At last, we came to a stop before a creek. Here he released me, to my relief, and studied the water. His gaze lifted to the bank across the way. "It's deep. We'll have to jump." He declared.

My jaw dropped. _Are you insane! _ It was 12 feet across at least, and the bank on the other side was higher than the one we were on. "You must be joking." I breathed incredulously. "There's no way I'm jumping that."

Sephiroth smirked, planted his feet, and with one swift leap he easily cleared the water to the other side. Then he turned to face me. "It's either that or you go swimming. I suppose you can always turn back too." He chuckled. "I'll even offer to catch you if you make it."

"Oh thanks." I grumbled irritably and yanked off the cloak. "But you'll have to take this first. I'll jump better without it I think." I tossed it to him and he placed the cloak aside.

I stumbled shakily away from the edge and took a deep breath. _This is a horrible idea._

I was a pretty good jumper, but damn that looked a long way across. It _was _a long way across, but there was no way I'd be left behind. Either I'd clear it or I'd get soaked trying. _Just do it, Tifa_. I nodded stiffly and sprinted towards the edge. My legs bent and sprang at the last possible moment, and I was suddenly soaring across the trickling oblivivion below. Then, as I began my descent towards the other side, I was plucket out of the air by firm, strong hands. I clumsitly fell into him, skin brushing skin, and my cheeks inflamed.

In that moment our gazes locked and the world outside of us disappeared; but before either of us had a chance to comprehend what was going through the other's head, the ground beneath our feet suddenly fell away and we both plunged into the water.

The freezing current swallowed me hole and began to sweep me down stream. I managed to get my head above the surface and grab the bank after a bit of struggling though. Sephiroth was doing the same just down the creek from me. His hair was plastered to the side of his face and the bangs that usually stuck out were flattened.

The situation was so ridiculous and unexpect that I burst into laughter while attempting to pull myself out. Consequently, I fell back in.

Sephiroth scowled deeply. "What could possibly be funny about this?"

"It's just...your hair." I giggled. "I never imagined I'd see the great Sephiroth so undignified and sopping wet." _Bad choice of words maybe?  
_

His eyes narrowed. "Is that so?" He sneered and swam up beside me. "You look rather amusing too." There was no time to dodge his hand as it grabbed my head and abruptly dunked me beneath the water.

_That bastard! _I struggled furiously to get above water and came up coughing. He was laughing at me. "You-you pig!" I shrieked and tried to punch him, but his hand caught me effortlessly.

He shook his head drearily. "Come now, you can do better than that." He said and let go of my fist. "I don't know about you, but I'd like to get out of here."

I'd tried that before and found it to be harder than I'd expected. Although my failure might have had something to do with the fact that I'd been laughing at the time. It was rather chilly in here too.

Sephiroth pulled himself out without difficulty, making it look pathetically easy. I, on the other hand, could not seem to produce enough momentum to get up over the bank. There was nothing to brace my feet against.

Sephiroth offered me his hand with a smirk.

I frowned, but took it reluctantly. The air hit my skin like a thousand needles as he tugged me out of the water. _And I thought the water felt cold._ It was freezing out in the open air. "I-It's c-cold." I chattered. "Really cold."

"At least the cloak is dry. It should keep you warm enough." Sephiroth remarked and tossed it towards me. "We'll stop for the night at the top of this hill."

It was a small hill, thankfully, and the moon had risen into the sky, casting its silver light over the land. It provided enough light for me to see without trouble. When we reached the top I flopped down at the base of one of the two large trees that grew there. Their massive branches formed a canopy of leaves above us, sheltering from the elements.

After a while Sephiroth successfully had a fire going for warmth and I crawled up beside it to savior the heat. _Perfect,_ I thought. It was just too bad that my clothing was soaked. My shorts would dry pretty quickly. The shirt, on the other hand, would not.

I'd been watching the fire for so long that I didn't notice Sephiroth removing his shoulder armor and soaked trench coat. My eyes rose from the fire curiously and halted the moment I saw him pull off the last bit of clothing from his upper body. I held my breath as I sat there, my gaze fixated on his bare back. He had muscles I didn't even know existed. _Woah. _

When he turned around I jerked my head back towards the fire quickly, nibbling my lip nervously. I could feel his heavy gaze as I sat there trying my best to appear innocent and oblivious to his nakedness from the waist up. It wasn't working though, for he'd already caught me staring. _How embarrassing._ _Goggling our enemy now, are we? Well it's not my fault he's so…so………gorgeous… Well, he is, damn it!_

I was relieved when he finally walked over to the other tree and sat down, and I could allow myself to breath again. I took a chance and glanced over at him. _Stop it! _ _Look away! It's nothing you haven't seen before... Ok, so that wasn't true._ His head moved again and my eyes darted back to the fire.

"You're staring at me...why?" Sephiroth inquired.

_Because you've got bulging muscles everywhere and…I can't help it? _No, that's not going to work. "Aren't you cold?" I asked, smoothly changing the subject. _The quick come back! Not a bad save if I do say so myself._

"No." He answered. "I'm only cold when my clothes are wet."

The brightness of the fire was starting to make my eyes water. I had to avert my gaze somewhere else. _Anywhere that wasn't in the vicinity of Sephiroth was good, _I thought and looked towards the sky. I frowned to find my view of the stars blurred by tree branches. _Well, that would have to be dealt with,_ I thought, and got to my feet. I let my cloak fall to the ground and walked beyond the fire to look at the sky.

I stood there for a long time, transfixed by the beauty of space. There had yet to be a shooting star though. _How disappointing_. I was starting to feel cold again too, not to mention tired. As I was turning to go back to my tree however, a streak of light grabbed my attention. My eyes brightened as and jerked back around and saw a star flickering across the sky. _Finally, a wishing star._

"You like stars?" Sephiroth inquired suddenly, rudely interrupting my daydream.

I turned around in sluggishly and forced myself to concentrate on looking at his face - no lower. He was watching me with those lovely eyes of his. I just wanted to melt right then and there. _Where did that come from?_ "I love stars." I whispered, returning my gaze to the sky hastily.

"They are quite spectacular." He commented. "Especially tonight."

I nodded. "Yeah, they do seem to be glowing brighter than usual."

"Yet, they still don't compare." He murmured softly.

I tilted my head confusedly. "Don't compare to what?" I asked, twisting around to look back at him. My eyes trailed helplessly for only a second to his chest. _Amazing…_I couldn't help but admire his oustanding physique. He was so powerfully built, yet thin and agile looking.

"You of course." He replied. "Who else is here to compare them to?"

My heart stopped and the entire world came to a stand still. _Did he just say what I thought he said?_ "W-what...?" I was speechless, my eyes wide with shock. I was having a hard time computing what had just been said.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have been so blunt." Sephiroth murmured thoughtfully.

"N-no! That's alright, it's just that you startled me, that's all." I replied quickly. "Thank you." No one had ever said anything so sappy and yet utterly believable to me before, and to hear it from Sephiroth made my skin tingle. I don't remember ever feeling this way just from a compliment. _What on earth was wrong with me?_ Grant it that was a very good compliment…no, that was an excellent compliment.

He frowned and peered into the fire, looking slightly disturbed. "I didn't expect me to say it either." He said narrowly. His brows formed a disoriented line above his eyes as he pondered the ludracy of what had come out of his mouth.

It appeared that he was just as astonished as I was and couldn't seem to understand how it happened or why. I smiled to myself and took one last glance at the sky as another shooting star flew past. "Wishing star." I called softly. _Hmmm …I wish that I could be...happy.  
_

"What?" Sephiroth looked up from the fire in surprise.

I jumped. "Oh, it's nothing." I blurted out quickly. _Damn that man had ears like a cat!_

"Wishing star?" He asked. "It sounds like 'something' to me." He emphasized impatiently.

I had the distinct impression that he was teasing me. "Wishing star is just another name for a shooting star." I explained with a shrug. "I prefer the name wishing star. It seems more appropriate, but you probably think it's silly."

"Perhaps." He replied. "I never had much luck with them, so I gave up."

"Oh." I responded quietly. It was hard to imagine Sephiroth making a wish upon a star, but maybe he did when he was younger. "I don't have any luck at all, but I always believe that maybe someday I will. I decided that only one wish could come true for each shooting star I see. If someone else wishes on it then maybe their wish came true instead of mine. Besides, it's only for fun." I sighed and slumped back down beneath my tree. "I lost hope in them a long time ago."

That wasn't completely true obviously. There was always a small part of me hoping that just maybe this will be the one that will come true for me. It never was, but I kept trying.

"I don't think you have." Sephiroth stated. "In fact, I know you haven't. I can see it in your eyes that you still hope."

I bit my lip and hugged my knees to my chest. "I do a little, but not as much as I used to."

"The key to having a wish come true is believing in it. If you don't believe, it won't come true." He said quietly.

My eyes drifted upwards thoughtfully. He was more unpredictable than any person I'd ever met. "I guess you're right." I said softly. I curled beneath the cloak and rested my back against the tree. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep, but it served its purpose and I was really too tired to care. "Goodnight." I said quietly and closed my eyes.

"Goodnight." He replied after a moment of hesitation.

* * *

**Author's notes:** I completely re-writ this chapter from its original format. It's much better than before I'd say. I hope everyone else thinks so too! I'm excited about the 4th chapter that's coming up. It's one of my favorites and I think everyone will like it. I'm going to try and have it up by this weekend, maybe a little sooner. Thank you! 


	4. Chapter 4:Insufferable Man!

**Chapter 4: **_Insufferable Man_

**Disclaimer:** Just reminding you all that I don't own ff7…

To My Wonderful Reviewers: Thank you everyone! You've no idea how happy I am to have all of your great reviews! I'm extremely motivated by all of your reviews and I hope that I'm reaching expectations with this next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

My eyes fluttered open to an early morning and bright rays of sunlight. White fluffs of cotton floated about here and there in the sky. They'd not been there last night, but they appeared innocent with no threat of raining on us. I sat up from my tree and yawned, looking about me curiously. What a nice morning and my back was only a little stiff. My gaze traveled over to Sephiroth's sleeping form. _Must be pretty early for him to still be asleep,_ I thought. It hadn't even occured to me that Sephiroth _did _sleep, come to think of it. 

I stretched my limbs and stood up. My clothes were mostly dry now, but I was extremely hungry. _Maybe I could hurry over to Rocket Town and pick up something to eat._ Sephiroth didn't look like he'd be waking up anytime soon anyways. He must of stayed up fairly late to still be out cold like that.

I walked to the edge of the hill and gazed out over the expanding landscape. A vast flat land stretched out below, and there in the center sat Rocket town. It wasn't that far away; probably around a mile. I'd make it there and back in 45 minutes at the most, depending on how long it would take to get breakfast..

I took one last glance at Sephiroth, contemplating whether or not I should wake him. Eventually I decided just to leave him there and made my way down the hill. If he woke up before I got back, then clearly the Gods were against me. .

When I reached the bottom, the creek lay before me. I scowled, staring gloomily across to the other side. _I tried to jump that? _Suddenly, now that it was daylight it seemed even farther than it did last night. At least I was on the higher bank this time around. I wouldn't have much trouble making it over. What worried me was making it back across when I returned. _Oh well, a little water never hurt anyone, _I thought, taking a few steps back from the edge.

My boots landed solidly on the far bank and with harldy a waver in balance.. I smiled triumphantly as I straightened and walked on towards Rocket Town.

It took me only 15 minutes to get there and when I arrived it was quite alive. I managed to get into a small grocery store without too much trouble and come back out with a bag of apples. Hopefully Sephiroth liked apples and if he didn't, _well too bad_. _Who doesn't like apples?_ There was probably somebody out there who didn't like apples I suppose.

On my return I was hassled by a few beasties, but they were no trouble. The trouble was the creek that I'd been dreading the entire trip back and had now finally reached. If it were alive it would have been laughing at me I think. The only thing I had going for me was that I could actually see my destination, unlike last night._ No time to be a coward now, Tifa_. Besides, the apples wouldn't be injured by water. I'd just have to be sure not to lose them if I did end up going for another swim.

I found myself taking another deep breath 15 feet away from the bank's edge, chanting in my mind '_It really isn't that far'._ My shoulders slumped slight and a tore off towards the edge again. I waited till the last possible moment before jumping. The landing wasn't particularly pretty, but I did make it, and only sustaine da few minor scratches in the process. That alone was a miracle.

I glanced into the bag of apples to find one of them missing. My eyes scanned the ground, but the lost fruit was nowhere to be found. I sighed and headed up the hill, leaving it behind. _Something would be happy to find it. _

At the top Sephiroth was just waking up and appeared to be in a great deal of pain, judging by the grimace on his face.

"Are you ok?" I asked and broke into a easy jog. "You look like you're in pain."

"It's nothing of importance." He retorted, wincing as he stretched his left shoulder. "Bloody tree." He muttered his face contorting in pain.

I scowled. "Nothing of importance?" I echoed skeptically. "Did you sleep on it wrong?" I asked, setting the apples aside and coming up beside him. He still had not put his trench coat back on, but I was much better at ignoring that fact today.

"It hurts like hell." He seethed through clenched teeth. "What do you want?"

_Someone was definitely not a morning person_. "I only wanted to know what was wrong." I retorted flatly. "You don't have to get so angry, you know?"

He grunted in response and picked up his coat.

I sighed and grabbed an apple out of the bag. "I hope you like apples." I said, taking a bite of the one in my hand.

"That's fine." Sephiroth muttered and strapped on his shoulder armor. "We're leaving."

"Right." I frowned and retrieved the cloak lying at the bottom of the tree I'd slept under the other night. "Why the need for speed?"

"The ferry to Wutai leaves in 5 hours." Sephiroth replied. "We should get going if we want to make it in time…unless you plan to go somewhere else of course."

"Wutai's perfect." I answered. Seeing old friends was my mission right now. Yuffie was certainly on the list, along with everyone else. I grabbed the bag of apples and started off after Sephiroth, who was already on his way down the hill.

We made it over the creek without incident and continued on our way. It would take most of the day to reach the coast where the ferry station was. Reeve had it built 3 years ago for easy transportation from here to Wutai. I'd never been on it, but from what I'd heard it was supposed to be quite nice.

Hours passed while I entertained happy thoughts of rest, and Sephiroth just kept trudging along unconcerned, as if he could go on for days. _Does he ever get tired!_ Probably not. He did seem a bit stiff though. I was teetering on the edge of collapse.

Sephiroth came to a sudden stop in front of me and I collided into his back. "Oof." I groaned. "Sorry." I managed, though it was muffled by his coat, and I quickly backed away from him in embarrassment.

He didn't even seem to notice it and went to sit on a nearby boulder. _Finally, a rest,_ I thought. The man was practically against them. Something about weakness and cowardice I remember him saying. He'd sort of went on a long rant about it when I suggested taking a rest earlier. After that I figured just keep quiet and let him decide when to rest on his own. It didn't take me long to realize that Sephiroth _didn't_ rest, at least not until now.

I sat down on a patch of grass and glanced over at him. He was clutching his shoulder again and wincing with pain. Perhaps that was his reason for the uncharacteristic stop. He looked to be in a great deal of pain. "Are you sure your ok? I could massage it for you if you'd like. You'd probably feel much better." I suggested.

His head snapped around to stare at me, his eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to say something and then stopped as if to think over his response.

My brow lifted curiously and I stood up from the ground. "Well?" I proddeded, walking up to him. I leaned forward, my nose only inches away from his face. My lips curved into a smile. "Let me guess, you won't accept help from anyone, right? Can't stand the thought of relying on someone else?"

He turned away with a haughty grunt. "Fine." He hissed and pulled off his shoulder armor, dumping it unceremoniously on the ground beside him. "Have at it."

I hastily yanked off my fighting gloves and stuffed them in my pockets. _Here goes nothing,_ I thought, and climbed up behind him on the rock. My right hand reached down and swept his silver hair aside sending a wave of Sephiroth's sent in my direction. For a split second I felt dizzy and dazed by the strangely tempting smell. My eyes widened. _Where did that come from?_

My hands shook as I placed them gently on his shoulder. _Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea_. Simply touching him was enough to make me tremble all over. I'd done this for my friends hundreds of times and never had this happen before. Why now suddenly? I shook my head irritably at my silly behavior, and began to feel about for the knot in his back.

He stiffened up like an overblown soccer ball.

I sighed hopelessly. "You have to relax if this is going to work."

"Easy for you to say." He shot back.

I ignored him and continued working the muscles on his back. His trench coat was giving me a great deal of trouble. It was much too thick to do this effectively. I bit my lip carefully, pulling the collar of the trench coat back and sliding one hand underneath it.

Sephiroth jumped as our skin came in contact. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trembling beneath my hands. "Your hands are cold." He bit out sharply.

"Sorry, but your trench coat was in the way." I explained calmly. "Where does it hurt the most?" I asked, still unable to find the knot.

"Where you are so kindly stabbing me with your thumb." Sephiroth retorted through clenched teeth.

I frowned and worked my hand up towards his trapezoid. There its was, and boy was it a doozy. "Ah-ha." I announced triumphantly. "I've found the source of the problem. Now if you'd only relax, this might not be so bad."

"This is supposed to help how?" He demanded,

"It loosens your muscles." I answered and pinched him extra hard.

"Ouch!" He bellowed. "That was no accident."

"Well, maybe you should stop complaining." I suggested and continued working my hands mechanically over his skin. The idea that I was massaging my ex-enemies shoulder had yet to settle in fully. Otherwise I probably would have had a fit.

"You are insufferable!" He snapped.

"I'm insufferable!" I shouted back furiously. "If you hadn't notice I am only trying to help. You don't have to act like I'm trying to kill you." _I'll tell you who is insufferable._ This whiney silver haired, pompous assed man sitting in front of me was insufferable! "If it bothers you so much, then why don't you ask me to stop?" I asked bluntly. "I will stop if you want me to."

He said nothing and appeared to have completely ignored my question. His muscles tightened again, this time much worse.

I pulled my hand away and leaned over his shoulder to peer at the side of his face. His features were so elegant and refined. I could study his face forever and probably never get tired. The eyes most of all kept me staring._ Oh not again…_Suddenly I remembered who I was and what I was doing. "Well?" I asked, blinking back to reality.

His head tilted my way slightly as he watched me from the corner of his eyes. "Well what?"

I couldn't believe what I saw. He almost looked nervous! "Do you want me to stop?" I asked, blushing slightly. Why was it every time he looked at me I felt like melting away? "You've done nothing but complain ever since I started. Is it that bad?"

Sephiroth immediately looked away avoiding the question. "You needn't stop." He answered at last.

"Ok then." I answered and placed my hand on his shoulder again. We both shivered.

Somehow I continued and pushed away the emotions that swelled in my stomach. Not another word escaped his lips for the rest of the time and he didn't tense up anymore either.

"Does it feel better?" I asked, taking my hand away when I was too exhausted to go on.

"Yes." He answered softly.

"Good." I smiled and slid off the boulder. "My hands are tired anyway." I said and retrieved my fighting gloves. "Besides, we should probably get going if we want to make the ferry, right?"

"Of course." Sephiroth responded and pulled his shoulder armor back on.

I picked up the cloak that I'd been stuck carrying and the bag of apples. Sephiroth hadn't eaten anything today. "Aren't you hungry?" I asked.

He picked up his sword and started off again, oblivious to me.

I ran to catch up with him and shoved the apple into his hands. "Take it. I bought it for you. You'll get hungry sooner or later I'm sure, whether you want to admit it or not."

There was a trace of a smile on his lips as he gazed down upon the shiny red fruit. "I suppose so." He said finally. "Thank you." He placed the apple in a hidden pocket.

"My pleasure." I answered and turned my head towards what lay before us..

We continued on in silence, a common occurence. Sephiroth wasn't much for conversation. If any verbal connection were to be made between us I'd have to make the first move. "Why do you want to go to Wutai?"

"I haven't been there for a while." He replied simply.

_And we have more silence_. Silence always made me nervous and uneasy. There had to be something we could talk about. _Think Tifa, think!_

"Would you stop doing that?" Sephiroth said suddenly.

I jumped, startled. "What?"

"Trying to start a conversation. It's highly irritating." He answered angrily. "I prefer to travel in silence."

I frowned. "You're irritated by everything." I growled and dumped the cloak I carried on his head. "I'm not carrying this for you if you're going to act like such an ass." I snapped and went off ahead of him. Sometimes he could be a complete gentleman and then he'd just come out and say something like that. I really shouldn't let that kind of thing affect me and normally I didn't, but for some reason hearing him say that hurt my feelings a great deal. It was like he saw me as some kind of annoyance that was only in the way, nothing more.

For the remainder of our journey he lagged behind me. I was highly thankful for it too. I'd no desire to set eyes upon him at the moment. It only infuriated me more to see him so tall and dashing when he was really only annoying and full of himself. How could I be attracted to someone like that? I kicked a rock angrily, sending it flying down the path and off into a bush.

Was I really that annoying? I'd never thought so. Was making people happy and enjoying conversation so wrong? I suppose Sephiroth simply despised people who were set on being happy all of the time. Or, maybe he just despised people in general. _That's probably it._ We were complete opposites it seemed, and yet I couldn't keep the haunting vision of his face out of my head. This was outrageous!

Now the dock lay before me and I came to a stop to wait for the vermin who trailed behind me. The sound of his slow deliberant footsteps approached and he appeared beside me clad in the black cloak, his sword nowhere to be seen. His head tilted my way, as if expecting me to say something. I said nothing and barely even noted his existence. Sephiroth sighed and passed by me, going towards the dock to search for the ticket counter no doubt. I trailed behind him.

The tickets weren't too costly and we had plenty of money besides. According to the lady at the counter the trip would be two days long. Two days on a large boat in the middle of the ocean; it just had boredom written all over it.

Only a few people shot us suspicious glances as we boarded the ship. We were in cabin #16 on level two above the deck. The room was roomy enough and comfortable, even if I was sharing it with the worlds most dangerous villain. It wasn't hugely large, but it was certainly big for a simple cabin. There was a closet, a desk, two beds and a bathroom.

I flopped down on one of the bunks without a word and stared at the ceiling. Sephiroth removed his cloak and sat down on the bed opposite the room from mine.. He was watching me from where he sat with that piercing gaze of his. I could _feel_ it when he looked at me like that, and it was very unsettling.

"Are you just going to stay silent forever now?" He asked, vainly hiding his agitation.

My head lifted slowly, guaging him curiously. "You're the one who wanted me to stop talking." I said and glanced off towards the window. "I have nothing to say to you anyway."

Sephiroth sighed and rubbed his gloved hands together.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. He appeared to be contemplating something. What could that be I wonder? _I don't care,_ I thought bitterly, and stood up. I needed to get out of here. But as I started to open the door there was a rustling sound from behind me.

"Wait." Sephiroth called.

I stopped and slowly turned around to find him on his feet and standing only 5 feet away from me. "What?"

"I...apologize…" He fumbled hopelessly, "for what I said earlier. I did not mean it."

There was nothing but pure sincerity in his eyes. How is it he always knew how to get to me? Every time I was angry with him he found some way to make me want to forgive him. _Fiddle sticks…_ "It's alright." I said softly, giving in completely to his pleading apology. "Don't worry about it."

"Why is it I get the feeling you're lying?" He challenged.

"I'm not." I answered, my voice wavering. "Not really… It doesn't matter." I said. "You apologized, I'm happy." I smiled. "I'm going to go look around for a bit. I'll be back."

He actually looked a bit concerned as I turned and headed out the door, but perhaps it was only my imagination.

Now what? I needed a book to read, and so I went on a search for a bookstore. To my amazement I found one. It didn't have a very large selection, but I wasn't exactly looking for a masterpiece. So I picked out a simple romance novel. I stopped on my way to the counter and averted my attention to a book sitting on one of the display cases. I picked it up off the rack and read the back of it. _Hmm, Sephiroth might be interested_.

I bought both of the books and headed back to the cabin. When I opened the door, Sephiroth was standing at the far end of the room staring out the window with a lost expression on his face. He turned around upon hearing the door open. "You're back." He stated. "The boat has launched."

I nodded and sat down on my bed. "Do you like to read?"

"That depends on the book I'm reading." Sephiroth replied. "If it's good, then yes."

"Here." I pulled out on of the two books (the one that wasn't the romance novel) and tossed it to him.

He gazed at it curiously. "I suppose I can read this." He said and strode over to his own bed where he stretched out on his back and opened it.

I frowned at the romance novel in the bag. _This is going to be really bad_, I thought asI lifted it out and rolled onto my stomach.

Three pages in and I already hated the damn thing. _Gods, how did this get published? It's awful! _Somehow I managed to keep going, even through the queasy moments.

Hours passed and I'd finally reached halfway. _Could I possibly survive anymore of this?_ I turned the page and groaned as the two main characters were once again engaging in wild monkey love._ Not again... _"My gods, this has to be the 3rd time now and I'm just barely half way through." I exclaimed out loud. _Who can read this stuff?_

Sephiroth's eyes peeked over the top of his book to look at me. "Do you mind?" He drawled. "That's very distracting."

I glowered at the book in my hands, ignoring him completely. The book had annoyed too much for me to even care about what he had to say. "This is the third time they've had sex. I can't take it anymore!" I cried and tossed it across the room. "No one can write romance these days."

Sephiroth cocked an eyebrow at me. "That's what you get for reading romance novels." He chastized lightly. "I wouldn't touch one if my life depended on it."

"Perhaps I should read it out loud for you." I said mischievously and grinned. It was only sarcasm. I'd sooner die before reading out loud what this writer had put down on paper.

The book in his hands slowly lowered, revealing the tremendous scowl on his face. His eyes darkened. "That would be very unwise." He drew out slowly. "I'd advise you not to do that."

"I was only kidding." I rolled my eyes.. "Do you really think I'd actually do that?"

"One must be careful." Sephiroth replied and returned to his book.

I studied him for quite some time with nothing else to do. An idea popped into my head suddenly. "You know, you never laugh." I spoke up.

"There's nothing to laugh about." He answered, his eyes never leaving the page that he was currently on.

"Are you ticklish?" I inquired.

"No." He answered curtly.

I slid off my bed quietly and crawled over beside him. He wasn't even paying attention. My hand snaked up and pinched him lightly in the side.

Sephiroth must have elevated a foot off the bed when my hand touched him. He jerked away from me in a heartbeat and in doing so crashed onto the floor on the other side of the bed.

It was the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen in my life. I burst into laughter and attempted to get to my feet only to stumble onto his bed, overtaken by hysteria. I peeked over the edge and there he lay, his eyes glaring up at me with disbelief and murderous intent. "So you _are_ ticklish."

"I'm not ticklish." He hissed.

I smirked. "Liar." I reached for his side again and he slid quickly out of my reach. "See?"

He scowled and got to his feet swiftly. In the next moment he had his arms clamped around my arms and waist. "Hey!" I cried, struggling about and kicking wildly at the air. "Let go of me!'

"Are you ticklish, milady Lockheart?" He whispered into my ear in a sinister voice and removed his glove.

"You wouldn't!" I gasped and tried again to escape. I was very ticklish actually. Extremely ticklish.

His fingers played along my side and I attempted to jerk away. "Stop!" I cried and fought his grip, choking back the gigglesclimbing up my throat. He didn't release me, but he did lose his balance and fall on the bed. I laughed uncontrollably while madly attempting to get free. Finally he stopped and his grip loosened.

I relaxed and caught my breath. By now I was too tired to care or move from where I lay, which so happened to be on top of him. I'd spent all of my energy trying to get away and now I was too lazy to get up.

"Would you get off?" He asked.

"No, you bastard." I mumbled and rested my head on his shoulder. "I'm too tired." I yawned, my eyelids drooping lazily over my eyes.

He swung me into his arms with ease, carried me over to my bed and gently set me down. "There."

"Insufferable man." I mumbled while my consciousness slowly faded.

The last thing I remembered was hearing Sephiroth chuckle. _Very insufferable man_, I thought, and let sleep consume me entirely.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Whew, another day of revising and editing, and now I can finally post it! I just hope it's good enough. Basketball is starting this week so I probably won't be able to get these chapters finished quite as fast, but I'll try! Please review and I sincerely hope this is worth your time! By the way, in chapter 5 the plot will unfold a little more and an enemy will be revealed. 


	5. Chapter 5:Evil Rears Its Ugly Blond Head

**Chapter 5**: _Evil Rears it's Ugly Blond Head_

Hello everyone! Here we are with the 5th chapter. This was hard to write. It was by far the hardest chapter I've done so far. I think it's mostly because all of the action in it. Anyways, read, enjoy and review. It's a shame there aren't more Tifa/Sephiroth stories on here because this is my favorite pair right now. Oh well, maybe more will come if I keep this up! Oh and thanks again to all of my great reviewers!

* * *

A long moan escaped my lips as I rolled about beneath my covers and gradually cleared my thoughts of sleep. It was almost dead quiet in the room, save for the gentle pitter-patter of rain against the window. I turned my head towards Sephiroth's bed to find him reading another book. I glanced out the window absentmindedly and watched tiny rivers trickle down the smooth surface of the glass. 

Sephiroth glanced up from his book. "Good morning." He said calmly.

"Morning!" I chirped and flashed him a giant smile. "What time is it?"

"11 a.m." He imparted, only half listening.

"Hmmm." I wrinkled my nose thoughtfully. I reluctantly pulled off my warm blankets and swung my legs over the side of the bed, suddenly getting the brunt of just how cold it was. _Nothing I can't handle. I think.  
_

I was hungry, not to mention I hadn't done very much exploring of the ship yet. _So I'd get a little wet, no big deal_. I fastened my boots and stood up with a long stretch. "I'm going out to explore and get something to eat. I might be a couple hours."

Sephiroth grudgingly looked up from his reading and stared out the window for a moment. "Suit yourself." He shrugged and returned to his book. "Don't freeze to death while you're out there."

I rolled my eyes. "It isn't even raining that hard." I insisted and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind me. Where was the mini restaurant in this place? _I guess I'll just have to go looking for it._

It didn't take me long to find it, thankfully. They were serving seafood omelets, oatmeal , pancakes, waffles, and bacon and eggs. So many good choices, and all of it smelled delicious. It'd been a while since I had an omelet and I'd never tried one with seafood. _It's hard to go wrong with seafood,_ I thought.

I sat down at an empty table, made my order, and occupied myself with staring outside at the rhythmic flow of the water while I waited. When breakfast arrived, I was overwhelmed by the size. It was very good, but a little too much for me. I finished up as quickly as possible so that I could take a look around and explore the rest of the boat. There were so many places to go. _Where to start?_

As I weaved in and out of the hallways, and up and down stairs I discovered a small exercising area, a bar, and an entertainment section. This place had everything. I spent some time in the gym, and then headed to the entertainment section where I was to play ping-pong (and numberous other games) with an insistent young girl for a good portion of the day.

Several hours passed and I finally escaped the area before the girl snagged me into another game of ice hockey. We must have played every game there was in there around 50 times each. I stepped out onto the deck with relief. The rain had picked up a little since I'd left the cabin, but not much. Now I could have some peace and quiet.

I came to a stop at the bow of the boat and leaned over the railing. We were speeding across the ocean at a good clip it seemed and so were several dolphins just ahead of the us. They were fantastic swimmers and had tremendous speed. I'd heard of them racing ships before, but I'd never actually seen it. It was quite an impressive show of endurance and strength. There were four in all and they looked to be having the time of their lives.

The scene brought a smile to my face. _I wonder how many people never get to see something like this? _It's a shame the things people miss in their lives.

Centuries seemed to pass as I watched and the dolphins eventually drifted away from the ship, their energy spent. My eyes followed them till they were completely out of sight. _It was enjoyable while it lasted,_ I thought and turned away.

I stopped short, gasping in shock as I found myself the center of attention for the eight people now standing between me and the cabins. The blood draining from my face as I stared in disbelief at a familiar face I had hoped never to set eyes upon again. "Scarlet." I growled. "You're supposed to be dead."

The blonde woman stood on 4 inch heels in a halter-top red dress much like her old one, with seven dangerous looking men backing her up.

She smiled. "Rumor has it Sephiroth is still alive too. Avalanche has a habit of not finishing the job it seems."

"Why are you here?" I demanded, holding back the urge to walk up and punch her in the nose. Something tells me the men with her would not take the gesture lightly.

"For the black materia of course! You didn't think we'd just forget about it did you? Where is it?" She requested impatiently.

My face paled. The black materia… "What do you want with it?" I choked. _Why couldn't these people just stay dead! _Everything had been going so well up till now.

"My boss would like to obtain it. It supposedly has a…hidden power." She grinned. "You and your Avalanche friends were the last ones to have it, therefore we're going to run you all down until the black materia is in our hands. Isn't it just a perfect coincidence that we happen to be on the same boat? We won't be here long of course. Our ride will be arriving soon. Wouldn't want to be late to capture that irritating little brat Yuffie now would we? We're killing two birds with one stone by finding you here."

My hands clenched into fists. "I'm not going anywhere with you, old wench." I retorted.

Her eyes flared with hatred. "I'd bite my tongue if I were you, bar slut." She snapped. "Besides, Marlene and Melony are charming little girls. It would be a shame to end their lives at such a young age because of your stupidity."

"You wouldn't!" I gasped.

She batted her eyes at me, lifting an scrutinizing eyebrow. "You'd be surprised at what I'm willing to do for power."

"I won't allow it." I said, stepping into battle stance.

"Come now, do you really think that you can take us on alone?" She asked, laughing. "Hmm, I think I shall enjoy this. Retrieve her." She ordered, and the seven lackeys started to converge in around me.

My heart was racing as they made their steady advance. Things were _definitely _not in my favor at the moment. I'd have to think up something pretty damn quick or I would be going with Scarlet whether I wanted to or not.

_Think Tifa!_ Knights of the Round… I cycled hastily through my materia slots and there sat the glimmering red orb. I spread my hands and immediatly began the summon, "Ultimate End!"

Four of the men were caught in the grasp of the Knights and instantl disposed of, but the other three had somehow escaped. Scarlet, I noted, had suddenly disappeared and was nowhere to be seen._ A little over confident, isn't she?  
_

Two of the men who were left resembled thieves while the third looked was a slick and trim fellow in a white suit. The Turk like man was tall, had shoulder length dark brown hair, gray eyes and wore fighting gloves. He had a blue tie too that I was dying to hang him by.

The man to his right had a very dark complexion and short black hair tied in a black bandana. He had sharp golden eyes and he carried a quarterstaff. He was dressed in knee length loose green pants, sandals and a black sleeveless silver trimmed vest.

The third fellow had dark brown hair that was bleached at the tips and his skin was light brown. He wore knee high boots, black pants and a long sleeved green tunic with several of the buttons undone, revealing his chest. In his hand was a glinting saber.

"Well, if it isn't the esteemed miss Tifa Lockheart." The Turk chuckled, taking a few casual steps towards her.

I gritted my teeth and kept a careful eyes as he approached. The other two waited behind him, thought for what I wasn't sure. They were cleary under his command.

"I'll handle this." The leader said then and cracked his knuckles. "You could join us you know?" He suggested. He looked me up and down slowly, his eyes alight with appreciation.

My eyes narrowed dangerously. "You make me sick. I wouldn't join your worthless hide if my life depended on it. Now, are we gonna do this? Or do I need to show you how to use those?" I gestured to his gloves, smirking dryly.

His eyes hardened into a glare. "Fool. This is the chance of a life time. You could have everything!"

"I have everything that I want right here." I responded icily.

"You're all alone." He murmured softly, taking another step towards me. "Don't you ever feel lonely?"

"Are you coming on to me?" I growled, stepping back.

His eyes sparkled brighter than ever. "What if I am?"

"Then youl'd best prepare a will before it's too late." I answered and lunged at him, landing a sold hook to his jaw. He staggered back in surprise, grasping at his throbbing face. Flame danced in his eyes as he shook himself off. His hand wiped away a small trace of blood from his lip and he leveled his fists. "You're going to pay for that."

Just like that he was right in front of me with a fist speeding towards my face. I caught it easily and countered with a punch to the stomach. When he didn't fall, I thrust an elbow into his ribs. Both blows had been solid, and yet he seemed hardly fazed.

He grinned. "You'll have to do better than that."

His words infuriated me beyond belief and I attacked him again, much more wildly than before. He blocked everything and struck me squarely in the stomach. I stumbled back breathlessly and managed to evade his kick only by centimeters.

Though I'd made a mistake by attacking in an out of control manner, the damage I'd received allowed me to reach my limit break. I smiled to myself. The timing couldn't have been better! "Beat rush!" I cried feeling the energy surge through my body. If this didn't work than all hope was lost for me.

I trounced him into the ground each of my attacks making its mark and then to finish off with a dolphin kick. The man staggered back bloody and bruised, his suit torn in several places. He certainly felt that one I thought with pleasure.

"You bitch!" He hissed. "Star Eclipse!" A massive ball of light materialized in his hands and he hurled it in my direction with amazing speed.

I had no chance to react as the spell uplifted me and threw me backwards into the railing. A cry of pain and surprise escaped my lips as a jolt of pain went up my spine. An explosion followed leaving me hanging form the edge of the boat for dear life. How I'd survived I don't know.

Alarms went off all around and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from afar. It took them long enough! Unfortunately it was too late for me for the enemy was approaching. Here I was tired and beaten dangling from the edge of a large boat that was moving quite quickly. There was no chance!

The leader stooped down to look me. "You put up a good fight. It's a shame you're on the wrong side, you'd be a valuable element to our numbers. I hate to scar that pretty face of yours."

His sly comment lit a spark of new energy inside me and I flipped up over the edge catching the unsuspecting idiot in the face on the landing. I slipped past him getting as far away from the edge as I could. I didn't get far for the other two men intercepted me on my attempted escape.

The blade of a saber narrowly missed my head. I caught his wrist and kicked him in the side of the face twice. The man fell unconscious to the floor. Something struck me in the back of the head from behind and sent me tumbling to the floor as well. I was quick on the recovery though and was on my feet in an instant facing the staff fighter.

"Don't kill her you idiot!" Someone shrieked. It sounded slightly like Scarlet, but her voice was muffled by the sound of a distant helicopter approaching and rain. At the moment I was too preoccupied with the man in front of me to care.

The quarterstaff twirled about in his hands smoothly, his lips forming a mocking grin. "I'm Insada, leader of the Diamond Back thieves. I owe you for the slaughtering of my second hand man not to mention several of my men."

He came at me with a powerful swing at my head. I ducked and got him behind the knees with a low kick. His back fell against the floor and I went for the finishing blow. He however was waiting for me to do just that and launched me over his head the moment I came down on him.

I pushed myself onto my feet and whirled around to face him only to have the end of his staff jammed into my stomach followed by a hard blow to my side. The force knocked me to the ground once again. I coughed up blood and groaned in exhaustion. I could not withstand much more. The spell the Turk used against me had consumed most of my energy and strength.

Gunfire rang out and the sound of not one, but two helicopters got closer. They were trying to escape I thought and struggled to get to my feet only to be slammed down again by the man's staff. The world around me was a sudden madhouse full of shouting and blood curdling screams as the bullets being fired punctured the flesh of the men fighting.

"Insada, hurry up!" Came the Turk's voice.

"Get her you fools!" Scarlet cried from the helicopter. "Don't you dare let that whore escape!"

Strong hands took hold of my arms and wrenched me off the ground. The one man was Insada and the other was one I'd not seen before. They drug me towards one of the two helicopters. I fought fiercely against my captors and drove my feet in to the floorboards. "Let me go!" I yelled and managed to catch the man to my right in the balls with my heel. He let go of me and collapsed.

Immediately following I was punched in the stomach by Insada. He added a finishing touch with a knee to the face. I crashed onto the floor in a flurry of pain. This was a losing battle.

I struggled to my feet and my right leg suddenly began to collapse. At that very same moment I heard a gunshot much closer then all the rest. I let out an ear splitting scream in response to the sharp pain in my leg. Red liquid poured from the bullet wound in my right knee. I couldn't give in! Never! Somehow I managed to shift my weight onto my left leg and push myself up to a standing position.

"You just won't give in will you? You've got a lot of guts. It really is a shame." The leader sighed hiding the gun in his hand somewhere beneath his suit. His eyes rose beyond me. "Any one of you fools who dares step forward will be shot."

I twisted my head to peer behind me. There were several sailors starring at us with horrified gazes and a few civilians several yards back. The sailors stepped back with fear in their eyes.

There were soldiers with machine guns sitting in the helicopters watching the crowd carefully for anyone who dare come forward. No one moved.

"That's better." The Turk smiled.

"Would you just grab her Evan!" Scarlet shrieked. "We've got to go you idiot! We haven't all day!"

"Yes Scarlet." He yawned. "Come on let's go." He said to the Insada and the two other men there (The unconscious man had apparently woken up). They started towards me and I hopped backwards on my one good leg.

It was no use though as they continued to gain on me. They were only 6 feet away and closing when a sudden a swirl of black landed in front of me barring their path. Silver hair twirled around the black clad figure and an enormous sword was in his hands.

My heart lifted and a smile crossed my lips the pain I felt fading for a brief moment. My hero had come to my rescue once again. How can I ever thank you Sephiroth?

"What the f?" Insada cried his eyes widening in disbelief. "So it's true. You can get her yourself Evan. I'm not fighting him." He shouted and ran to the helicopter the two other men following in his footsteps.

Sephiroth glared at Evan. "What are you waiting for?" He taunted. "Are you afraid?" His lips curved into a sinful smile the masamune's tip pointed at the man's throat.

"Maybe some other time." Evan said checking his watch. "Till the next time Lockheart." He winced and hurried over to one of the two helicopters as it lifted off the ground.

I let myself fall into a sitting position on the ground caressing the wound in my leg. Tears stung at my eyes. Pain radiated from nearly every part of my body. My head ached from the staff blow I'd received and I was still dizzy from the eclipse spell Evan had used.

"Cowardly son of a bitch." Sephiroth growled as the helicopters disappeared into the foggy night.

The crowed behind us gasped and yelled. "It's him!" I was much too lost in my own agony to give much notice though. What I needed was a restore materia, but the eclipse spell had also conveniently drained me of my magic. My eyes closed tightly, I was helpless.

Green light consumed me and the pain slowly faded away. I felt along my right leg to find the wound completely gone, but my fatigue still remained. I flopped onto my back peering up at the cloudy sky. So tired…

Sephiroth kneeled down beside me his mako eyes observing me and evaluating my current state.

The only thing I was thinking about now was the safety of my friends. They were in danger and the rest of the world too probably. Scarlet was on her way to Wutai to capture Yuffie and there was nothing I could do. And what about Melony and Marlene? Did they really have them or was it only a bluff?

I felt myself being lifted carefully off the floor of the boat by strong arms. I blinked up at the sullen worried face of Sephiroth. The warmth of his body against mine was comforting and protective. I rested my head against her shoulder and sighed happily. Thank you so much.

A frightened sailor approached cautiously. "W-will she be alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." I groaned tiredly eyeing him in annoyance.

"We're sorry we could not be of help madam. There were too many for our small force. We don't have guards on the boat." He said apologetically.

"Get them then." Sephiroth snapped.

"We will sir!" The man replied hastily. "Are you…? Are you really him?" He asked suddenly. "Aren't you supposed to be dead I mean?"

Sephiroth glared at the man. "Who else would I be?"

The man cowered. "W-w-well it's just t-that you were going to destroy the world before and n-now…you don't seem to be the same person."

"Perhaps not." Sephiroth said. "I am as I was before the…incident."

"Really?" The man asked excitedly. "That's great news!"

I could feel Sephiroth stiffen impatiently.

"Do you mind? I'd like to get her to our room and you are in my way." Sephiroth drawled impatiently. "She needs rest."

"O-of course!" The young sailor replied and turned abruptly to the crowd of people. "Make way!" He shouted pushing them aside to make a pathway.

When we were clear of the mob I lifted my head from his shoulder. "You don't have to carry me." I said softly.

"Shut up." He responded. "You'd insist on walking if both your legs were broken. Don't even think I'm going to fall for that nonsense. You nearly got yourself killed!"

"This wasn't my fault!" I cried. "Why are you blaming me for it?"

"I-I'm not…err…I was…" He stuttered stupidly. For the first time ever he appeared to be at a loss for words and was searching frantically for something to say that would justify his strange behavior. Finally he spoke. "You should have been more careful, that's all…and if that sniveling little bastard Evan even so much as looks at you again I'm going to cut his balls off." He growled.

I bit my lip and blushed. I hadn't realized Sephiroth cared that much about me. Despite all of my efforts to contain the urge, I kissed him lightly on the cheek. His skin was warm and soft against my lips. "Thank you." I said quietly half expecting him to drop me right there.

But he didn't. In fact he turned scarlet and stumbled, nearly falling down in the process. He managed to gain control of his balance to prevent a horrible incident. "What was that for?" He asked shakily, avoiding my gaze like the plague

Besides sitting in my father's lap, I'd never been this close to a man before. I've never felt so safe in my life right here in his arms. "It seemed to be the best way of showing you just how much I appreciate all that you've done I guess. I'm very grateful to you. I'm sorry."

"I didn't say that I was angry at you." He half mumbled. "You have a habit of getting yourself into trouble." He announced, changing the subject and ascending a flight of stairs. "You're extremely audacious my lady not to mention infuriating. Why can't you keep still?"

"What?" I cried jerking my head up in surprise. I smiled proudly. "I don't want to stay put. And I'm sorry if I wasn't expecting to be abducted at the bow of the boat! Last time a checked the world was safe and no one was out after Avalanche members."

"The world is full of people with bad intentions. You could come across them anywhere at anytime." He replied sternly. "Try to be more aware."

Maybe he was right. I sighed sadly averting my attention to something else. I found myself thinking about Yuffie and the others. Tears threatened to fall. What if they'd already been captured or worse? It would be my fault.

"What's wrong?" Sephiroth's voice broke into my thoughts.

"Scarlet is going after Yuffie and I can't do anything to help her! The others are in trouble too, they might already be captured." I groaned and hid my teary eyes away. What had me worried the most was the safety of Melony and Marlene. If they even dared hurt them I'd-I'd kill them all myself the bastards!

Sephiroth's grip tightened around me. "I'm sorry. " He murmured softly as we approached the door to our room. "Can you open the door?"

"You could put me down." I answered.

"Open the door Tifa." He ordered in annoyance.

I smirked and turned the doorknob with my hand. The door swung open and a gust of cool air met us from the inside. Too cold I thought and clutched at Sephiroth's warmth. He'd have to put me down now I thought with disappointment.

He lowered me onto my bed, pulled off my boots and tucked the covers around me. "Get some rest. You're no doubt quite tired. We'll talk more about this in the morning." He said and turned away. "You are a very brave woman and I've a great deal of respect for you, you know?"

"Sephiroth?" I questioned quietly. When had he become so sweet?

He head twisted around to look at me. Our gazes locked in a moment of complete silence. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Was I falling in love with him? That's impossible! Or was it? No, it wasn't impossible. It was quite true actually. I was falling for him and there was nothing I could do about it. Not even Cloud had left me feeling the way I did when Sephiroth gazed at me. There was just something about him that I simply couldn't resist.

"Yes?" Sephiroth asked.

"Thank you." I said again. "I can't thank you enough."

He shook his head slowly. "There is no need my lady. I repay you for all of your sufferings even if I don't believe I was entirely at fault. Someone should."

A knock came at the door and shattered the moment completely.

Sephiroth moved to open it.

The young sailor from earlier stood strait and rigid in the doorway. "General Sephiroth, the captain of the ship requests a meeting with your greatness."

Sephiroth scowled at the sailor. "Very well. Do refrain from calling me ' your greatness' if you would." He added hotly.

"Of course sir if you wish. This way." He said and the door closed behind the two men.

I huddled under my blanket overcome by annoyance. A perfect moment broken by some stupid meeting! Oh well, our conversation was mostly over anyways I suppose. I yawned tiredly and closed my eyes.

For some reason the only person I seemed to see in my head was Sephiroth. All of my worries were suddenly forgotten as sleep came around and I drifted off into a dreamy state. He was always by my side chasing away the nightmares. A hero in both reality and in my dreams, what more could I want?

Author's Notes Another chapter finished, how satisfying. Ok so, how bad is it? LOL, I'm so nice myself aren't I? I'm just not sure how people will react to the plot that's unfolding and Scarlet who I threw in there as a semi-bad guy. Please don't be disappointed! I think I'd die if that were to happen after getting all these wonderful reviews! Oh and I quit basketball (very long story) so I'll be able to spend more time on this, but thanks anyway to Katsuhito Sage for your words of encouragement (And for reviewing every one of my chapters)!


	6. Chapter 6:At The Breaking Point

**Chapter 6: **_At the Breaking Point_**  
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**Disclaimer:** I don't own the ff7. Really? Gee, I never would have guessed.

Finally! This chapter is huge. I think I must have the biggest chapters on here. Oh well, lots of reading material, right? This gets harder and harder every second…whew. I know I am a horrible critic of myself. It's kind of a bad habit, but it also makes me strive to do better each time I put out a new chapter. I'm trying to keep up the good work. I'm getting the feeling that this might be a pretty long story. I hope no one minds. Enjoy the 6th chapter! ( it must be 6:30 in the morning and I haven't gone to bed)

* * *

What time was it? Not time for me to wake up I hope though I had the sneaking suspicion that it was. The simple movement of my hand was enough to trigger immense amounts of pain from the muscles in my arm. Last night had taken more out of me then I thought. Walking was not something I wanted to think about. Moving in general gave me bad vibes. 

Last night… It was a wonder how I managed to sleep at all with so many fears plaguing my mind. I suppose my body was simply too exhausted to stay awake. Now that I'd finally awakened I was back to thinking about all that had happened yesterday.

So Scarlet and her boss had hired thieves as their army. I suppose if you're in need of manpower there is no better place to go. Especially when you're up to no good. The Diamond Backs had always been known for their love for bloodshed back in the days when Midgar was still a massive city of power. They were also by far the strongest, they controlled just about everything on the streets. It really was no surprise that they were working for Scarlet.

But what exactly were they going for? World domination? That didn't sound right and besides, the black materia didn't do that. The last time I checked it summoned meteor and that was it, but Scarlet had spoken of a hidden power. Now they were running Avalanche members down to find it. How many of us had already been captured? It was almost a certainty that Barret and Cid had fallen into the hands of the enemy after Scarlet's reference to the girls. She knew of Marlene's existence, but not Melony's. The only way she'd know was if they had gotten their slimly hands on the girls.

Damn. So many complications, why couldn't things go smoothly for once? Things never went smoothly. There was always something around to mess it up. There had to be a way to get the girls back. They couldn't defend themselves like everyone else and their lives were in the most danger out of everyone. Scarlet knew exactly how to get to me the wench.

The sound of the door opening snapped me out of my thoughts and my eyes opened for the first time.

"Still asleep." Sephiroth muttered.

My head shot up from the pillows in retaliation to his comment and I was overcome by pain. "Ouch!" I yelped freezing into a sitting position. That hurt really, REALLY bad. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. "As you can see…I'm not asleep."

"So noted." Sephiroth frowned. "Sore?"

"Just a little." I answered my eyes falling on the banana in his hand. My stomach growled hungrily.

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Oh!" I said blankly realizing that I'd been staring. "Sorry."

He sighed and handed what was left of the fruit to me. "Here, take it. I've already had one anyways and you're obviously hungry."

I smiled brightly taking the banana from his hand. "Thank you." I beamed and took a bite.

"Satisfactory?" He questioned.

I nodded vigorously. "Very!" It was beyond satisfactory. I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon! Anything would suffice right at the moment…well maybe not anything.

The banana didn't last long and I was still hungry when it was gone, but that would have to wait for the time being. There was something much more important at hand that had to be addressed.

Sephiroth watched me intently while pulling on his gloves. "It seems we've got a mess on our hands. Do you mind filling me in on last nights happenings?"

I tried to relax and clear my mind. There were so many things that had to be explained. "Scarlet is working for someone who's looking for the black materia. She said something about it having a hidden power. Those of us in Avalanche were the last ones to have it after your defeat so they are coming after us." I stopped to catch my breath. "It seems that one of the thieve groups from Midgar is backing them up too. That's where they are getting their man power."

He rested his elbows on his thighs and his chin on his hands listening carefully to my explanation. "Does Avalanche have the black materia still?" He asked.

"Sort of." I mumbled. That was the best way to sum it up. Sure it sounded extremely vague, but it really was the best that I could do!

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Sephiroth frowned.

I bit my lip and played with the banana peel in my hands. "You see…it kind of…split in half. After we defeated you that is." I explained. "We've got one half and the other half disappeared into the life stream. It could be anywhere."

"It split in half?" Sephiroth echoed in astonishment. "I didn't even know that was possible!"

I nodded. "Yes, in half. It probably doesn't have any power at all anymore, but I don't know. I'm not exactly a genius when it comes to the workings of materia. I've never had one break in half. I've never even heard of such a thing, but that's what happened." And it only gets weirder.

"Oh it still has power I'm sure." Sephiroth advised me. "Maybe not as much as it used to, but it still does and now that power has been distributed to two pieces. This is very dangerous."

"There's more though." I said. "You see…I'm the only one who knows where the one half is. All of us agreed that it was the safest thing to do so that if someone did come looking for it they would not have very many leads." I said. "Cloud had passed on the information to me before going to the Promise Land with Aeris."

"And?" Sephiroth prodded.

"It reformed." I answered. "The half formed into a smaller orb and now instead of completely black it glows red in the center."

Sephiroth's brown lowered in a disturbing manner. "That is extremely strange." He commented. "You don't have it with you, do you?" He asked his eyes narrowing.

I shifted my gaze to the window nervously and nodded. "I do." I answered quietly.

"Are you sure that is wise?" He asked. "If you were to be capture you'd be handing it right over to him, though I can see why you might want to keep it with you at all times."

"There was no place for us to put it so Cloud simply gave it to me and said to keep it safe. Besides it's not like I just stuffed it in my pocket." I frowned. "I put it somewhere inconspicuous."

"Where is it then?" He asked.

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?" I asked.

Sephiroth tossed his hands into the air. "Oh for god's sake woman! Do you really think I'm going to take it from you and destroy the world? If I were really after world domination than I'd have done it a long time ago, which you very well know! I'm only trying to help."

"I'm sorry, I was just being careful. You don't have to get angry." I answered while pulling my hair over my shoulder. My fingers closed around the black ribbon that formed a bow around my hair and pulled it apart. A small orb rolled out from beneath the folds of the silk bow and into my hands. Its center glowed a wine colored red much like my eyes. "Here." I placed it in his hand.

He studied the orb with a calculative eye. "How strange." He murmured. The red light began to glow even brighter and tiny bolts of lighting shot out from its interior zapping his hand. "Shit!" He cursed and instinctively dropped it to the floor.

My hand shot out and caught it mid way. "What on earth was that?" I asked watching it cautiously. The orb gave no hint of harming me. "I've never seen it do that before, are you alright?" I asked.

The lighting had burnt holes in his glove. "I'm fine." He answered pulling off the wrecked glove. "But this isn't." He sighed and tossed it into the garbage can. "I've never seen anything like this before, but for whatever reason it seems to have chosen you as its holder."

"But it didn't do that to Cloud when he had it!" I answered bewildered by the whole thing. This was extremely strange.

"He was probably its first choice, but when he left it had to chose another and that was you." Sephiroth replied. "This calls for an investigation of huge proportion. There must be something that explains this phenomenon. I'm curious to know and I get the feeling this hidden power Scarlet mentioned has everything to do with this."

"But where will we find information about it?" I asked.

"The best place to look is either in the old Shin-Ra mansion, the City of the Ancients or Cosmo Canyon." Sephiroth replied walking up beside the widow for a moment to look out. "But for now, we'll head to Wutai as planned and see what has gone on there. Yuffie may have escaped for all we know and if she did we'll need all the help we can get. We're dealing with something vastly dangerous here. That other piece is floating around somewhere and we need to find it before they do."

I nodded. "But they don't know it's split in two."

"We can't be sure. They most likely don't know, but they might figure it out." Sephiroth answered. "We must be cautious."

"They have Cid's daughter and Barret's too!" I stated worriedly. "Scarlet threatened to hurt them, possibly worse if I didn't cooperate. If anything happens to them I don't think I could live with myself." I whispered anxiously. "We have to do something."

He was watching me again with a curious expression. "If they mean that much to you we'll get them back. No harm will come to them, I promise you." He assured me and stepped away from the window. "We're just about to dock. I'm going to talk with the captain again before we go to gather any extra information he might have. It turns out he was one of my Soldiers back in the Wutai war so there's no need to worry about him causing trouble. When you're ready to go come get me."

"Ok." I answered and tried to move my legs. The action proved harder then I thought it would be. My legs apparently had not intention of moving and upon having to nearly paralyzed me with pain. I cringed as I forced them out from under the covers.

Sephiroth was on his way out the door when he stopped. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle. "Take this." He commanded and threw it to me. "It will make you feel much better."

"Thank you." I answered and picked up the small potion.

He nodded and closed the door behind him.

I stared down at the potion curiously. He could be trying to poison me, but I seriously doubted it. The top popped of easily and I drained the cool liquid. Whatever it was it sure had a buzz to it.

It was a trial getting my boots on, but the worst part was standing up. Somehow I managed to do it without collapsing though my muscles certainly wanted to. I checked about the room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Sephiroth's black cloak had seemingly disappeared. He might have lost it last night for all I know. I sighed and headed out the door in a very slow walk.

I made my way to the mini restaurant, which was still serving food thankfully. I bought a turkey sandwich and a bottle of water, and took a seat at one of the tables. People were bustling about with their luggage buying food to take with them on their way to Wutai. It appeared that they were still slightly edgy from the night before and eager to get away.

After finishing my sandwich and water I headed up to the top to search for Sephiroth. The staircases were hell on my muscles, but the potion was already working its magic and I was starting to feel better. When I found him he was talking with the captain and several other sailors. The conversation seemed to be important and urgent so I just waited.

Minutes passed and I found myself pacing back and forth in annoyance. As more time went by I grew more impatient and stopped, placing my hands on my hips. I glared agitatedly at the group of men who'd yet to notice my presence. How long was this going to take? I sighed in defeat and spun on my heel to leave. If he was going to talk for the rest of the day I had much better things to do rather than wait around here.

So I headed back down the stairs leaving them behind me. I reached the deck and started off for the exit ramp. After wandering around lost for a bit I finally found it.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sephiroth's voice rang out from above me.

I jumped and followed the voice to the balcony above me. "Oh, so you're finally finished talking?" I frowned irritably. "I would have thought you'd notice me waiting out there. I just gave up in the end."

"I told you to come get me. You could have said something." He replied and leapt over the railing with ease landing in front of me. He smirked. "Who needs stairs?"

"I do." I replied narrowly. "And I didn't come get you because I didn't want to interrupt your conversation. It looked important." I said. "So what WERE you talking about then?"

"We can speak while we walk." Sephiroth said and started off.

"Well?" I asked as we descended upon the ramp.

"It seems that Reeve has disappeared. The entire Shin-Ra Corporation is in complete disarray now that their president is gone and no one is paying attention to the fact that several other Avalanche members have gone missing. The situation at hand worsens every minute." He sighed. "There is still no word about Yuffie. Either Scarlet failed or Wutai doesn't want anyone to know that their leader's successor has disappeared."

We came to a stop just outside of the dock. I silently prayed for Yuffie's safety. Several others had already disappeared, who was left other than myself? "You said some of the others are gone. Who else?"

"Barret and his daughter, Cid and his family, and Reeve is all. Nanaki fled Cosmo Canyon it seems or at least that's the impression everyone seems to be getting from the reports. He must have realized something was going on." Sephiroth answered.

"I wonder if Vincent knows too?" I asked thoughtfully.

"There was no word of him." Sephiroth said.

"I'm not surprised. He spends most of his time wondering about. We never know where he is." I smiled lightly. He was the most mysterious and standoffish of everyone, but he'd open up to me sometimes. Poor man. "He'd be one of the hardest to find and capture."

"Let us hope that he has escaped their grasp." Sephiroth said. "Shall we head for Wutai then?"

"I guess so." I answered.

A drop of rain fell onto the bridge my nose as we started off towards Wutai. It was only 2 miles East of here. Most people hired chocobo carriages, but we wouldn't need one. I preferred walking anyways, it help loosened my muscles. So far the potion Sephiroth had given me had helped a lot. At least I could walk without too much pain. Fighting was a different story however. If anything got in our way Sephiroth was the one to deal with it.

After the first mile my legs were already feeling weak and tired again. I'd slowed down considerably and trailed a good distance behind Sephiroth in my fatigue.

Eventually he stopped and waited for me to catch up.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as I approached.

"Fine!" I answered putting on my best smile. Why I bothered lying I don't know. He could always tell.

He frowned. "You're exhausted."

"So? It's ok." I said. "We're almost there."

"Alright then." He answered and we continued on.

We attracted numerous people's attention once we entered the town. I was relieved to reach a stopping point yet terrified of the consequences that might come from Sephiroth's presence. People watched us with an abundance of different expressions. Most expressed pure shock, others fear, some hate and some curiosity.

After a while the villager's expression changed into confusion and bewilderment. I knew the feeling, it happened to me only a few days ago when I first saw him. They knew that he was Sephiroth yet they saw someone completely different from the cold-blooded murderer he'd turned into years ago. This seemed to satisfy them enough to leave us alone.

We stepped inside the inn where several more pairs of eyes fell on us. The whole room went completely silent as they just stared at us.

The woman at the clerk table froze her hands trembling as I approached. "T-Tifa Lockheart!" She exclaimed. "What a-a pleasant surprise." She gulped her gaze trailing to the silver haired general who loomed above me. "Y-you'll be n-needing a room f-f-for two?"

I nodded with a smile. "Yes please."

"Mattress beds?" She questioned.

"That would do fine." I answered and pulled out some money.

"That'll be 50 gil." She said.

I handed her the money and she gave me the key.

"Number 8." She added.

"Thank you." I smiled and disappeared into the hall to search for the room. Sephiroth walked in complete silence behind me. "That didn't go bad at all."

"No." He answered. "We must be extra careful around here. Scarlet knows you're here, but I'm betting she won't show her face around here for a while if they did try and capture Yuffie last night. Wutai is on the alert by the looks of the people. Something has happened I can guarantee it."

"Yes, it does seem that way." I answered as the door swung open. A gust of cool fresh air blew into our faces. I gave a sigh of relief and flopped onto one of the two beds. "I'm so tired." I yawned.

"It's only 5." Sephiroth said. "Don't you want to find out if Yuffie's alright? You can't do that if your sleeping."

"I know that." I groaned in annoyance. I bolted up to a sitting position and hurled a pillow at his head.

His eyes widened and a gloved hand shot up catching it inches away from his face. "Almost." He smirked and hurled the pillow back at me with extraordinary speed.

There was no time at all for me to defend myself and it smacked me right in the face. "Jerk!" I yelled half giggling and jumped to my feet. He was half way out the door by now. "Wait for me!" I cried and hurried after him.

"Oh, so now you're coming?" He asked/

"Of course! I've got to keep an eye on you." I said with a grin and slid passed him.

The rest of the evening we spent questioning people trying to find answers and in the rain no less. In the end we didn't find out all that much, but from what people had said we concluded that Yuffie hadn't been captured. However she'd disappeared after last night's incident and hadn't come back since. No one knew where she was except possibly her father, but he would say nothing. Probably to protect his daughter's safety.

It was a fairly exhausting day over all and I was relieved to finally be able to rest. The moment we entered our room I crashed onto the bed and fell asleep instantly. Now I could sleep.

Morning came with rays of joyful sunlight peaking though the lilac trees outside the window and into the room. I sat up and stretched my arms a moan of satisfaction escaping my lips. I glanced over at Sephiroth who was still sound asleep a peaceful expression etched on his face. He rarely looked so happy and it was in his sleep!

I grinned mischievously. Now I could look at him all I wanted and no one would know! You evil woman!

He'd removed his trench coat I noted as my eyes trailed down his neck and landed on his bare muscular shoulders. Stop starring I thought to myself and forced my eyes away. I looked out the window at the roses and lilacs. I loved lilacs! They had the most wonderful scent. There wasn't another flower that could compare with them, not even the rose.

I approached the window and opened it letting the sweet smell of flowers and new fallen rain flood the room. What a lovely day. What time was it? The clock on the wall read 9 pm. Sephiroth was sleeping late again. What did he do all night?

My fingers slipped through my hair and massaged my scalp. It was time to take a shower I think. My muscles probably wouldn't mind it either. They were still sore, but not quite as much as they were yesterday.

I tip toed into the bathroom and took a quick refreshing shower. When I returned Sephiroth was awake sitting on his bed with his back turned to me. He was putting on his boots as far as I could tell.

His head raised and tilted slightly to one side in acknowledgement to my arrival. I continued to watch him as I stepped over to the window. Why did I find him so captivating? Perhaps it had something to do with his vastly good looks and the fact that he was always coming to my rescue. Nothing made my heart dance more than being rescued by a dashing knight in shining armor. It seemed that my heart had already made up its mind and had no intentions of changing it.

He turned around very suddenly startling me and I jumped. "Good morning!" I said hastily my face flushing a deep red. I started to chew my lip rather violently. "Sleep well?" Caught in the act again. Sure he knew anyways that I'd been watching him, but when you're actually caught doing it, now that's different.

"Very." He answered grinning at me. "And you?"

"Extremely well!" I smiled. He was laughing at me again behind his eyes. "I'm starving. Do you want to get something to eat? When you're ready that is?" I asked hopefully.

"Alright." He replied and began pulling on the remainder of his clothing.

I turned around to admire the flowers some more. A lilac hung very close to the window. My eyes brightened and I slipped my arm outside to try and grasp it. After a great deal of frustration and failure I gave up. When I turned around Sephiroht was watching me his eyes sparkling with amusement.

I held my head high and strutted past him with what little of my dignity I had left.

He chuckled lightly and followed me out.

Breakfast didn't last long and we were back at square one trying to find any new information that might have come up. Sephiroth pondered for a while on what our next move should be and decided that we'd look around a bit and see if we ran across Yuffie anywhere. If we didn't find her we would have to head back over to the middle continent and search for more information on the black materia.

I was still worried sick about Melony and Marlene of course not to mention everyone else. It must have shown for Sephiroth gave me a concerned look as we came upon the path that led to the mountains.

He studied the path thoughtfully. "Let's go up the mountain path and relax for a little while." He suggested. "There's no need to worry Tifa. Everything will be fine."

"I hope so." I answered softly and followed him up the path.

We came across a small meadow with large boulder scattered about here and there. Sephiroth came to a stop here and bounded up on top of one of the large rocks. "This is a nice spot." He said looking about him.

"Yes it is." I agreed taking a seat on a small boulder. He seemed strangely chipper today, more then usual that was for sure.

"Let's spar." Sephiroth said and jumped down onto the ground. He leaned his sword against the boulder and approached me.

"What!" I shrieked jumping up from the rock and taking a few steps away from it. He stopped right in front of me. "You must be jok-" Without any warning whatsoever my legs were kicked out from under me and I suddenly lay on my back. I sat up fuming with anger. "You bastard!" I hissed. "How dare you!"

He grinned smugly. "That was pathetically easy."

I flew to my feet. "You'll pay for that!" I cried and went at him with my fists. No matter what I did he always blocked me and it was infuriating! What was worse is he appeared to be bored. He wasn't even trying!

"Come now, you can do better than that!" Sephiroth chuckled.

My mouth twisted angrily and I clenched my fists tighter. I charged forward with an attack and was once again on the ground in seconds, but this time my recovery was much quicker and I was able to kick his legs out from under him. He slammed into the ground with a loud thud.

"Ha!" I exclaimed getting to my feet victoriously. "There you go you arrogant ass!" I smiled.

Now he was angry, obviously taken by surprise. He got to his feet and this time he attacked me. I panicked and lamely defended myself once again being flipped back onto the ground. A small rock stabbed me in the back and I let out a sharp cry of pain.

He came to my side immediately. "Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.

An idea popped up in my head in that very moment. My lips curved into an evil smile as he took my hand and pulled me to my feet. My fist shot out in an instant and struck him in the stomach stunning him. I followed up with an elbow to his chest and finished with a roundhouse kick that landed right on the side of his face.

The force of the blow knocked him off his feet and onto his back. I stood completely still my eyes wide in astonishment and shock. I couldn't believe what I'd just done! The fact that I'd succeeded was the most alarming part, but satisfying just the same.

He sat up very slowly his eyes flaming with furry and a queer sort of envy. I'd never seen him so angry before. For a split second the thought of running was very tempting. Damn I kicked his ass! I couldn't help but feel slightly joyous though his glare chased most of it away.

Perhaps I'd gone too far. I stood rigid and uncertain as I watched him. At least he appeared to be ok. The right side of his face was red from the blow though, but he was a quick healer.

"You cunning little snipe." He hissed getting to his feet. "Very intelligent, I must hand it to you. Not many people have made me look like a fool the way you did. Now it's my turn."

Here comes major bodily injury. I trembled as he came towards me his face completely serious. Put it together Tifa! It was time I started acting like the martial artist Zanghan trained me to be! Smart, calculative and instinctive. He'd said that I had the potential to be the best. Even though I was massively out classed, I'd make a fight of it and Zanghan would be proud of me wherever he was.

I awaited Sephiroth's attack patiently trying to figure out his strategy. It was not easy to anticipate his moves because he was so fast. A lot of the time I was on the ground before I even saw it coming, but this time I would concentrate harder.

He approached me carefully testing for my weaknesses and strong points. I fended him off easily, which boosted my confidence. I was in much better control of myself this time around. Everything I did was carefully planned and executed. Yet it still wasn't enough. At least this time I put up a decent fight and I even snuck in a few blows of my own. His endurance would be the end of me though. The man never got tired!

I stumbled from exhaustion and he took immediate advantage of it. My legs were knocked out from under me once again. I retaliated from the ground and just barely caught him behind the knees. They buckled and he landed on the ground beside me with a groan.

I rolled over and attempt to get up, but his hand caught my wrist before I could get away. In a split second his entire body had me pinned to the ground. He held my wrists tightly in his grasp and didn't intend on letting go any time soon from the looks of things.

I struggled but to no avail. He was simply too strong. "Let me go!" I yelled angrily trying to free my hands. I was helpless against him and he knew it the bastard!

He grinned nastily. "You're not going anywhere milady." He whispered.

My entire body began to tremble beneath him the closeness between us becoming almost unbearable. Even though I was his prisoner I welcomed his warmth and ceased my struggling. Our gazes locked and I melted into his beautiful eyes. This was too much I thought. "Please get off." I begged. Before I fall madly in love with you…but it was too late for that. I already had.

He said nothing, only studied my face very carefully.

Our faces were only inches apart and I could feel his breath against my cheek. My skin tingled and I shivered. Why did he have to tempt my heart in such a way?

A war was battling behind Sephiroth's eyes. Emotion dug its talons into the both of us and we could no longer hold back the urge to fall captive to desire.

His mouth covered mine in an almost violent kiss. It was so astounding and shocking that I almost couldn't believe it was happening, but the warmth of his lips was real and he was real too.

I'd never been kissed before in my life and had never dreamt it would be this wonderful! I acted on pure instinct and kissed him back eagerly wanting more. He released my wrists allowing me to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer while his own hands clamped around my waist.

Right here and now, I was completely safe and loved in his arms. I hadn't felt that way for many long years. I'd do anything to keep it now, but nothing ever lasted and I knew that he was uncertain and afraid of these emotions. Even in this moment of need I could sense his hesitation. Could he truly love me?

With an agonizing groan Sephiroth broke away. He breathed heavily staring down at me with disbelief and fear. His eyes were a blur of confusion, frustration and wanting. "We mustn't do this." He whispered hoarsely and stood up abruptly. He tore his gaze away from me and turned his back to me shamefully. "It can never be."

Tears of hurt began to roll down my face. So close to mending my shattered heart only to have the shards broken even further. Of course we couldn't, he was immortal and I was not. For some reason up till now I'd not thought about it, it hadn't mattered. Now that it did I found that I could barely breath from the painful realization.

Why oh why did the world treat me this way? Did I deserve no happiness after so many years of struggle? What had I done that was so wrong to deserve this torment? I'd managed to hold myself together through all of the pain and keep going only to be forced back down once again. I wrapped my arms around me trying in vain to comfort myself from the sudden cold that surrounded me.

I pushed myself to my feet wiping the tears away. Someday I'd thought…not anymore though. Fine then! Throw me down as if you think it won't hurt! Perhaps you don't realize how damned in love with you I am! The first time was bad enough, but the second time? So close and yet so far… I was reaching the breaking point.

So much anger at the world rooted itself inside me. I turned away and marched up the path towards the mountains. After that incident I'd rather not be in his vicinity, it was too painful. Lost and broken I stumbled about with no destination in mind. I stopped at the base of the mountain and clenched my fists. In a moment of rage I snarled and punched the rock with my fist. It sent a jolt of pain up my entire arm, but I didn't care.

"That's unhealthy you know?" Someone chuckled form behind me.

I spun around to find Scarlet, Evan, and 10 others. "Scarlet." I frowned crossing my arms in front of my chest. "You wanted something?" I growled.

"Yes actually, I do want something." She answered. "Oh, I've brought some friends of yours." She smiled and snapped her fingers.

To men walked out from behind the trees hauling Melony and Marlene with them.

I froze as fear clenched at my heart. "Marlene! Melony!" I whispered.

"Tifa!" They both cried gleefully.

"Shut up!" Scarlet hissed. "If either of them says another word hit them."

I clenched my teeth with bitter hatred for the witch standing before me. "Don't you dare touch those girls! I'll give you what you want, but only under one condition." I stated.

"And what is that?" Scarlet asked.

"You let them go." I ordered.

"Fair enough. I'm tired of the brats anyway." She answered giving them a look of disgust. "Where is the black materia?"

I shook my head slowly. "Let them go first, than we'll talk." I said.

Scarlet laughed, but it came out more like a revolting cackle. "You obviously don't understand who's in power here. You will come with us and then we will set the girls free."

I really hated that bitch. "Fine." I hissed and waited as Evan approached along with another. I stiffened as their hands clamped down on my arms.

Evan smirked. "It's a pleasure to see you again."

"It'll be a pleasure wiping that grin off your face." I muttered. "Bastard."

Scarlet smiled. "Perfect, call the helicopters."

I glared at her expectedly. "Well? We had an agreement didn't we?"

She grinned. "You're such a fool! You didn't actually think I was going to go along with it did you? Besides I made a promise to my boss. Professor Lorse would love to use these two young specimens for his experiments. He was Hojo's apprentice you know? He'll make them invincible warriors just like Sephiroth! You should be happy for them!"

My face paled. "Dear god." I breathed. Of course I shouldn't have believed her! I didn't, but I knew that I really had no choice. I hadn't given up just yet though. "You're such a lying son of a bitch!" I spat.

A surge of energy engulfed me suddenly and fog swirled around us. Two screams shattered the air. They came from the two men who held Melony and Marlene. I could just barely make them out as they fell limply to the ground behind the startled girls.

Evan forced me to the ground and twisted my arm behind me painfully.

"Run Marlene! Take Melony up into the mountains!" I yelled urgently.

Marlene nodded and took Melony's hand in hers. They raced through the fog and disappeared.

"Tifa!" A familiar voice yelled.

"Yuffie!" I responded in astonishment. "Get out of here!"

"What the hell is going on!" Scarlet shrieked.

"It's some sort of spell!" Evan said angrily. "We've got to get out of here! Where the #$ are the damn helicopters?"

I groaned and tried to move, but Evan held me fast. Damn.

"Let her go you scum!" Yuffie exclaimed. She was somewhere to the left of us.

Evan wrenched me to my feet and another man grabbed my other arm before I could use it. "Come on!" Evan growled.

My ears picked up the sound of helicopters amidst the angry shouts of what remained of Scarlet's men. I twisted my head around to search for Yuffie. Her face appeared suddenly in the middle of the fog. "Yuffie! Get the girls!"

"But-" She started.

"Please! Sephiroth is here! He'll help you." I exclaimed. "You have to trust me!"

Evan punched me in the stomach to silence me.

"Sephiroth!" She yelped in befuddlement. Someone suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her. She flailed about trying to free herself and was getting absolutely nowhere by doing so. The man started to haul her towards the helicopters and she tried to kick him, but missed.

"Stupid bastard!" Yuffie yelled.

I struggled against my own captors the need to get to my friend stronger than ever, but there was no chance. We'd both been caught. Evan punched me in the stomach again to settle me down. "You're a persistent little bitch."

"Come on you idiots!" Scarlet snapped. "We've got to get out of here! Sephiroth will arrive any minute!"

We were only a few yards away from the helicopters now and I dug my heels into the ground.

"There he is!" Someone shouted.

"Son of bitch!" Evan cursed and pulled me harder but I resisted.

The fog was beginning to rise.

Yuffie was giving the man holding her a hell of a time, but not quite enough to get free. If only I get free for a second I could help her and maybe she could escape. Just like that a shield of energy surrounded me and the men holding me were flung away from me with extreme force. Where was this strange energy coming from? No time to waste thinking about it right now I thought. I ran as fast as I could to Yuffie's side and punched the guy holding her in the face. His arms released her and he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Thanks!" She breathed.

"Your welcome." I answered quickly. The words 'Star Eclipse' echoed from behind us and I froze stiff. "Run Yuffie!" I cried urgently. "Now!"

She nodded and sped away to attack some nearby foes.

I jumped to one side trying to avoid the spell. It still managed to get me, but the damage was only minimal. Evan however hadn't wasted any time and had wrapped his arms around me in a death grip by the time I'd gotten to my feet.

"Sephiroth!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs as Evan drug me once more towards the helicopter.

The silver haired warrior lifted his head in an instant and fought his way in our direction, but he was not going to make it. Evan had already yanked me into the chopper and then he punched me in the face. "Shut up!" He snarled. "Let's get out of here!"

"Tifa!" Yuffie cried as the chopper lifted off the ground.

Sephiroth cleared the last of the men out of the way and glared up at us. "Damn it!" He cursed angrily his hands clenching into fists.

Our eyes met for a few split seconds. "Please keep them safe!" I pleaded to him both out loud and in my mind. "I'm sorry." I whispered as tears streaked down my cheeks. This was my fault.

There was so much fear and anger in his eyes. Was he mad at me?

_I'll come for you my lady…_Sephiroth's voice echoed inside my head as we flew away.

Thank you.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I just got over a bad case of writer's block. The second half of my story I'm completely redoing and it's going to be much longer now and hopefully better. I just hope it doesn't fall apart. This is a really, REALLY long chapter. Wow! It's just so…long. Whew, ok. Read, enjoy and review!  



	7. Chapter 7:Slipping Away

**Chapter 7: **_Slipping Away_**  
**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own ff7… Just incase everyone forgot.

Yikes,100 reviews! Thank you everyone!

* * *

The helicopter ride lasted through most of the night and the air had acquired a frigidness to it that froze my limbs. Ropes bound my hands tightly together behind my back and rubbed sores onto my wrists. I sat quietly in my corner shivering as the chopper continued on. Would this ever end? 

Scarlet checked her watch and said something to the pilot. Afterwards she produced a needle from her bag and handed it to Evan. "Give this to her, she'll be easier to handle that way."

Evan nodded and took the needle while I sat up nervously watching the narrow tube of clear liquid travel from one hand to another.

Someone grabbed me and shoved me forward towards Evan. He thrust the needle into my arm painfully and inserted the liquid it contained. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth fighting the urge to cry out. Finally the needle was removed, but before I could feel relieved my head started to spin and I was hit with a massive dizzy spell.

Minutes turned to hours and I could scarcely remember where I was and what was happening. Somewhere along the lines we stopped and I was hauled out of the chopper and into a cave. They put me on a blanket and left me there in a semi-conscious state. I managed to burrow beneath the blanket and keep in what little heat I had left.

Sleep would have been a blessing, but the drug kept me awake. An hour seemed like a day as I lay there my head throbbing and my teeth chattering. I was too lost to realize that I was even hungry. Someone approached and spoke to me, but the words only came out as a scrambled nothing.

I couldn't answer. I couldn't even stand or spell my own name if I tried. My eyes closed in hope that just maybe my mind would fall to a light doze at least, but the drug screamed in my head. I've never had a migraine headache before, but I'd guess that this was somewhere along the lines of what it felt like.

Something heavy and warm was draped over me, another blanket I presume. The sound of fleeting footsteps and hushed voices in the distance echoed off the walls.

As time passed the drug began to wear off and I was able to finally get some rest.

When morning came around I awoke to Evan's grotesque smile of glee staring at me. I would have liked to punch him right then, but the ropes kept me from doing so.

"Sleep well princess?" He asked.

My eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Don't you dare call me princess!" I spat. I swung my leg up from under the blankets and the metal toe of my boot slammed into the side of his face. Seeing him hit the ground made me smile. It would be a very short-lived moment of course for punishment would no doubt follow, but I couldn't stand the arrogant bastard's grin. Just the thought of it made me want to hurt him.

He glared at me furiously while pushing himself to his knees. "Bitch." He hissed. "Someone needs to tame that wild side of yours."

In an instant the back of his hand had struck me across the face. The blow snapped my head to one side and caused me serious pain. I slowly turned back around to face him holding back the tears that wanted to fall. He'd not see me give in so easily.

"Time to go." He said and stood to his feet. Three thieves were standing by waiting for an order. "Bring her to the choppers. Now." With that he turned and headed out.

The three approached and wrenched me off the ground. Sunlight blinded me upon leaving the shade of the caves. After looking about me a bit I concluded that we were at a fairly high elevation. There were no trees as far as I could see. We were up in the mountains in the Thieves hideout.

Again I was put back on the horribly stuffy chopper that was carrying too many people. No calming drugs appeared the whole while, not even when we were about to land. For this I was thankful. Last night had been absolutely dreadful and I had no wish of experiencing that again.

The helicopter settled its wheels down onto the landing pad and I was shoved out just barely holding my balance on the landing. It looked like a real landing pad this time. No more hiding out in caves it seemed. I realized as my gaze fell upon the piles of rubble and debris before me that we were in the ruins of Midgar. This didn't surprise me at all. Sure, most of the place was a disaster, but there were plenty of nooks and crannies where people could hide out unnoticed.

We started off through a cleared off path and wound up standing before the Old Shin-Ra building. It appeared to have taken the most damage of everything for there was barely anything left of it. There was nothing here as far as I could see, where would we go?

My question was soon answered as we entered a secret trap door and descended down a large flight of stairs that lead to an area I didn't even know existed. At the bottom of the stairs there were two halls both lit by ceiling lamps. They had power here?

The men holding me let go and went to stand guard on either side of the stairs. As we continued on Evan dropped back beside me and took hold of my arm.

"This is Hojo's secret lab." He spoke suddenly. "His most important research was carried out here and was preserved when the rest of Midgar was destroyed. Professor Lorse has continued Hojo's unfinished work, but we're missing a valuable piece." He tilted his head towards me with a smirk. "Which you know the location of."

"I've no intention of telling you." I growled. "And you can remove your hand from my arm, I'm not going anywhere."

"No, you're not." He grinned. "But I like it much better this way princess, it's too bad Lorse won't let me have you for myself."

The word princess danced off his tongue in a velvety tone that disgusted me on a multitude of levels and made me want to rip his throat out. I shuddered and yanked my arm out of his grasp. "What a pity." I muttered.

"Yes indeed." He sighed. "But, I haven't lost hope yet."

"I hope Sephiroth kills you slowly." I hissed.

Evan scowled. "Do you? I doubt he'll even come. Last time I heard he was good at using women out of boredom and nothing more. You don't really think it's possible for him to actually love you, do you? Hojo raised him with the idea in mind that Sephiroth would be a brutal son of a bitch who could love no one and wouldn't want to."

If it weren't for my binds I would have murdered him right there, but the fact was the words had cut like a knife into my very soul. What surprised me was how uncertain I was. I admit I'd doubted it too before, but surely I was not just another woman around to use out of boredom? No, it couldn't be and it wasn't. Maybe he didn't love me, but he cared. I know he cared and I wasn't going to let this jealous bastard manipulate me!

"I'd choose him over you any day." I answered. "At least he doesn't hit me."

Evan's eyes flared with hatred. "You're nothing but a whore anyways. I can find much better." He snarled and dropped back behind me.

Scarlet came to a stop at one of the many doors and knocked. There was a muffled reply and she opened it beckoning me inside. I came forward hesitantly entering the small office like room. A man was standing beside a file box searching eagerly for something. He was tall and thin with dark brown hair that was combed back with the help of hair gel and had olive green eyes. He appeared to be in his 30's.

His eyes lit up upon our arrival. "Well, well, well!" He cried with excitement slamming the drawer shut and coming to stand in front of me. "So the famous Tifa Lockheart has finally fallen into our hands. Well done!" He exclaimed to Scarlet.

"She wasn't easy to catch mind you." Scarlet said narrowly. "And the rumors are indeed true. Sephiroth is still alive. He was with her."

"Really?" He beamed. "Excellent! What better test for my specimens than the world's greatest? If I cannot beat Hojo's creation than we must work harder. Will he come for her?"

"How the hell should I know?" Scarlet snapped. "He seemed to be in her favor though. He might."

"Even better!" He grinned and turned to me. "I am Professor Donov Lorse and you are the key to my success I'm certain."

So this was Scarlet's boss.

He examined me carefully from head to foot. His eyes closed and for a split second I felt a strange sort of energy wave pass through me. "It's already been done!" He gasped his eyes snapping open.

"What!" Scarlet asked.

"The materia has been split." Lorse replied.

"You mean it's already formed two separate pieces?" Evan asked confusedly.

"That's exactly what I mean." He stated loudly. "The split must have occurred after Sephiroth's defeat." He mumbled in deep thought. "You only have one piece though." He frowned.

The blood drained from my face. So he knew, but how could he? "H-h-how did you know that?"

His head shot up. "What?" He asked in bewilderment. "Oh, that." He chuckled. "My dear I was born with a gift you see. I have visions and am somewhat psychic, but the visions come only when they wish making my power limited. What you just experienced was one of them and what it showed my was the black materia that you have wrapped in that lovely black ribbon of yours."

"Oh." I stated blankly.

"That doesn't matter however for you and I both know that it's almost completely useless unless…" He trailed off.

"Unless?" I prodded. Perhaps he could tell me something.

"Unless you use it appropriately of course!" He answered. "You see, once the materia splits the type of power it has depends on its user. What it does and how powerful it is depends on what kind of person you are and what your intentions are. However, as to using it I'm not sure. It does not work on command of course, only on very rare occasions will its power reveal itself."

Great.

"It is a very mysterious piece." He stated. "Since this is the first time it has split as far as we know, there is no record that tells you what it does because no one knows. We simply have to answer the questions on our own and for me to do that I need the other piece."

"Why don't you just take mine?" I asked.

He scowled. "What do you take me for, a fool? I know very well what it will do if I try to take it. Once it has chosen a master it will resist all others and kill them if it comes to that. You can keep it for the time being, but don't doubt that I will be keeping an eye on you."

"What about the other piece?" Scarlet interrupted.

"We must find it." Lorse replied.

Scarlet ground her teeth together in agitation. "We don't just simply go out and find it. We need leads! Something!"

"Ask her." Lorse commanded.

Evan turned to me. "Well?"

"It'll be a cold day in hell before I tell you anything that I know." I retorted angrily.

"Perhaps this might convince you." Lorse said. "Come this way." He led us through another door and into yet another hall. People walked back and forth about us, many of them wearing white lab coats. Here and there you might see one of the silver suited Turk like people guarding a door.

We entered a small room and stopped. There was a large window looking into a neighboring room that contained an operation table with straps. Beside it was a cart that held several instruments. Awful pictures infested my mind at the sight of the blades and hooks that lay there. I didn't want to know what they did here.

A woman in a lab coat entered behind us. "Shall I bring him inside then?" She asked.

"Yes." Lorse answered.

The woman entered the room and disappeared through a door in the back.

I could feel my heart pounding against my rib cage as I waited fearfully. Minutes passed and the door opened. The woman appeared and behind here were two men carrying Vincent. My blood went cold and I shuddered. What were they going to do to him?

He looked up at me and his eyes widened in surprise then looked away almost shamefully. I'd never seen him in such a weak state.

Lorse turned to me. "This is a most curious piece of work. Another example of Hojo's intelligence! The man was certainly a genius! He had a gift. What he did to this man was exceptionally amazing. There is in truth, only two ways to kill him and one is to hit his heart the other is to behead him, other wise he'll continue to live forever. This allows one to do untold things of torture, however that is not the reason for our tampering with his body. We simply wish to learn more about him and how Hojo managed to accomplish this."

"That's hideous." I whispered in disbelief.

"We've already done plenty of experimenting on him and it is quite painful. It's amazing how such a quiet man can scream so loud." Lorse laughed. "The hardest thing is keeping Chaos from coming out. If that were to happen we'd have a madman on our hands, which is why I developed this solution to keep that from happening. It seems to be hurting him rather badly though and I'm not certain why. Shall we continue?"

I wanted to cry. "You wouldn't!" I shouted.

"Why not?" Lorse asked. "It's science and we learn more about this specimen every time we do this. However I'll be willing to spare him today's confrontation if you give us the information you have."

"I don't know much." I said quietly.

"But you do know something." Lorse stated. "Even the littlest thing will be of help especially to your friend here."

I stared into the room as the woman pulled off Vincent's shirt revealing horrible scars. I held my breath.

"You see those are what was left from yesterday. Isn't it marvelous how quickly he rejuvenates?" Lorse asked with excitement. "With his abilities they will have disappeared completely in the next day or two."

"You're sick." I choked.

"I've heard that from quite a few people." He answered. "I call it open minded towards human experimenting. Sure there will be a few casualties and pain will be felt, but the things that people will gain once we've mastered transforming them!"

I shivered. "Stop. Don't hurt him." I said softly.

"You will speak than?" He asked.

"Yes!" I snapped angrily.

"Good!" He grinned and knocked on the window.

The woman looked up and nodded her head in acknowledgment. Vincent was removed from the table and taken back through the door.

"Now, tell me what you know." Lorse demanded.

"After Sephiroth's defeat the materia split in half as you already know. We were able to get the one piece, but the life stream consumed the other. It could be anywhere." I answered.

Lorse nodded. "Perfect!" He exclaimed turning to Evan. "Gather some search parties. We've got work to do." He headed for the door and stopped just before leaving. "Oh, and get her something to eat and put her in with the others."

"Alright." Evan answered.

Lorse disappeared out the door leaving the three of us alone in the room.

"Well, maybe this isn't a lost cause after all." Scarlet grinned. "I'll get the search parties. You can deal with her." She said to Evan and left.

Two Turks entered the room as Scalret disappeared. From there they escorted me to my prison where the others were kept. My hands were untied and I was shoved into the room. A single light lit the dark, musty room. At least they had the courtesy to put some beds in to sleep on.

"Who the &#?" Barret bellowed from a dark corner of the room.

The door slammed shut and I pushed myself to my feet. "Hello everybody." I sighed observing the tender rubs on my wrists. The ropes sure had done a job on them.

"Tifa!" Barret cried in disbelief. "They got you too?" He asked.

Cid came up behind the burly black man. "They didn't do nothing to ya did they?" He asked his eyes narrowing.

"No, I'm fine." I answered tiredly. "Just a little hungry."

"They'll bring you something to eat. The food isn't all that bad, at least it's more than scraps." Cid sighed. "But this place itself is enough to make me go insane."

I looked around the two men for Shera and found her kneeling down beside Vincent. Reeve was standing just a few feet away. "How long has this been going on?" I asked softly.

Cid shook his head slowly. "Only two days, but yesterday they did it for hours. We could hear him screaming. Stupid mother #&$!" Cid growled and punched his one hand with the other.

"Were gonna have to get outa here." Barret mumbled. "Vincent ain't gonna last much longer."

I slipped passed the two and kneeled down beside Shera.

"Hello Tifa." Reeve said. "I'd like to say it's good to see you, but considering the present situation…"

"I know what you mean." I replied averting my gaze to Vincent's pale face. He shivered violently. "How long has he been like this?" I asked.

"It comes and goes. Ever since yesterday it has gotten worse." Shera said quietly. "They gave him some kind of drug to prevent Chaos from coming out. Chaos fights it now inside him and his body suffers. It is weakening him."

I placed a hesitant hand on his forehead. It was burning. "My god." I whispered. "Vincent?"

His eyes opened for a short moment and he tilted his head my direction. "You….shouldn't……have told him." He gasped and started to cough up blood.

"Vincent, you know I had to." I said.

"It wouldn't have killed me today" He breathed.

"You'd welcome death over what they're doing to you, wouldn't you?" I asked.

Vincent forced a sigh. "Yes." He answered. "You're right." He went silent for a long time and lay there, his breathing long and slow.

"There's no guarantee they'll find it." I assured him and the others too. "They can't take the one we have. The piece chose me as its holder and will take no other so it is safe. It's the other one that they're after."

Vincent gave a short nod of acknowledgment. "Thank you." He whispered. "For sparing me today."

My eyes filled with tears. "I could never stand by and watch anyone of my friends suffer when I have the ability to stop it. I'm sorry for you Vincent." I smiled weakly.

"You needn't worry about me, it's chaos that you should be worrying about." He said. "I fear that my life will end soon."

"But they said-"

"They know nothing!" Vincent snarled suddenly. "Chaos will eventually have my soul and I will be no more."

"But then Chaos would…" I trailed off as the horrible conclusion pictured itself in my mind. "Oh no."

"Yes." Vincent groaned. "The only solution is that I die before Chaos kills me."

Shera stood up and turned away. "Hope is dwindling away it seems." She said softly. "And the girls…" Shera began to sob.

"Wait!" I said jumping to my feet. "Melony and Marlene ok!"

Everyone's attention was automatically on me and Shera stopped.

"Ya mean they don't have'em anymore?" Barret asked.

"Yes, both of them are fine. They escaped when I was captured." I answered. Do I tell them the rest?

"But, who's taking care of them?" Shera asked while stepping up beside me her eyes filled with urgency.

I bit my lip. "Yuffie and…" His name was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't seem to voice it. I could imagine an all out brawl breaking out at the mention of it.

Barret's eyes narrowed. "And?"

Cid watched me intently waiting for me to answer. He knew at least partly what I was talking about. "Well Tif, you might as well break it to us now."

"We might not be alive tomorrow." Reeve put in with a smirk.

Thank you Reeve for that lovely reminder I thought bitterly.

"Yuffie and Sephiroth are taking care of the girls." I groaned and stirred dust up from the floor with my shoe nervously. Here it comes.

The room fell completely silent. The sound of rustling clothing on the ground caught my attention and I shifted my gaze to Vincent. He had pushed himself to a sitting position. "Sephiroth…is alive?" He asked.

I nodded silently. For a moment I wondered in bewilderment why Vincent was so interested, then it came to me. Sephiroth was his love's child and he'd vowed to Lucrecia to take care of him, but failed. It made perfect sense for him to be interested.

"You !#$ kidden me right?" Barret exclaimed.

Cid was wearing a very displeased scowl, but kept his mouth shut for the time being. He seemed to be thinking over the news rather critically.

Reeve stared at me blankly appearing to have no answer. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dirt-covered pants and sighed.

"No." I answered. "I'm not kidding."

"How the #&$ is he still alive?" Barret growled. "What's goin on? Have you lost yer mind?"

I clenched my teeth holding back the angry reply that waited in the back of my throat. No, I'd have to stay calm. Besides, Barret was one of my closest friends. It was expected that he would be a little outraged at hearing about Sephiroth taking care of his child. After all, they didn't know him like I did.

"Cool it Barret." Cid broke in. "Let her explain for gods sake. You don't think Tifa would actually purposely put the girls in danger do ya?"

Barret shrugged. "No, but…"

I cleared my throat. "I don't expect any of you to trust me or agree that it was a good idea, but I had no other choice. Sephiroth is the only person who's strong enough to resist Lorse's men successfully. I believe the girls are the safest under his protection and Yuffie is with them too." I explained. The two of them were probably going at each other's throat at the moment. What a combination. Poor Yuffie doesn't even know what's going on. "Twice he's come to my rescue at his own will. He's not the same man we fought. You'd understand if you saw him."

Shera took my hand in hers and smiled. "I trust you." She said and turned to the others. "Tifa will do anything and everything in her power to keep those girls safe. If she believes they are safe with him then so do I."

Cid smirked and trudged over beside me too. "I told you once that I'd trust ya no matter what. I'm not about to break that promise now."

Barret frowned his mind obviously in turmoil. "Aww shit!" He groaned and scratched his head. "I'm sorry Tif, but this is all weird ya know?" He said. "Yer like a mother ta Marlene. I can't imagine you doin anything to hurt her."

Reeves smirked. "I'm not sure what to say or to even feel at the moment, but I'm not going to go against your opinions so I'm with you too I guess." He sighed. "This is just really strange that's all."

"I know it is and I'm sorry, but thank you all anyways for believing in me." I smiled and turned towards Vincent.

"There's no need to ask." He said before I could speak. "If he's changed as you say than I'm on his side."

"Alright then, now that this is settled." I sighed. "We must wait."

"Well, since we don't have anything else to do, why don't you tell us your story?" Shera suggested.

"Ok." I answered and took a seat on the floor. I would have liked to go to sleep, but they had a right to know.

When I'd finished telling my story Shera wore a bright smile on her face and Cid was grinning like a drunken fool. My face flushed red with embarrassment. I had of course left out the kiss that had occurred, but everyone had a hint of what was going on between Sephiroth and myself..

It was surprising how well they'd taken all of this. Even Barret had settled down a bit. It just goes to show how close our friendships really were. They trusted me even when I asked for them to believe the impossible. I smiled to myself and leaned against the cold stonewall.

Food was finally brought and I was able to quench my hunger for the time being. Rest came next and I welcomed it gladly. A day passed and nothing happened. I sat by Vincent's side from time to time as his body was forced to fight against Chaos and continued to lose.

That evening the scientists came and took him away again and for the next two hours we were forced to listen to his agonizing screams. It was a horrifying sound that made your very soul shudder with fear.

When they returned with him he was out cold and bleeding from several wounds. The torture had finally ended.

"What are they doing to him?" I murmured. Sweat covered his face and body, and he trembled violently. "He doesn't have much time." I said quietly holding the medal claw that had been surgically applied to his arm.

"Who knows?" Shera answered. "I'd rather not find out."

"This is awful." I choked. Tears ran down my cheeks. "Haven't they figured out enough already?"

"Those damn foo's never gonna let up." Barret growled waving his hand in disgust at the door. "They'll kill'em sooner or later. That's what they doin. They're drawen Chaos right outa him and they don't even know it."

"There too stupid to realize it." Reeves muttered.

"Aw #$ it!" Cid punched the wall. "Stupid sons a bitches! Chaos will kill every damn one of us if Vincent ain't around to control him. Another day of this shit and there won't be anything left of him."

Sephiroth, please hurry… He'd come wouldn't he? He said he would. I shook my head sadly. There was no hope for Vincent though. His soul was being devoured by a bloodthirsty demon because of these wretched scientists. Couldn't we have normal scientists for a change? Did they all have to be mentally unbalanced and psychotic?

We were fed again, but Vincent would not eat. Not a word ever escaped his pale lips, only a nod and a headshake. As the hours passed everyone had fallen asleep except for myself. I sat only a few feet away watching my friend as he suffered. I would have stayed awake for the entire night, but my body wouldn't have it.

Vincent's agonizing groan snapped me out of my sleep hours later. I crawled over to his side immediately. His eyes were glazed over and his body convulsed as he let out a short moan. A battle raged in his unconscious mind.

Again he screamed and I flinched. "Vincent?" I spoke trying in vain to reach him, but he was much too far away.

"What's wrong?" Came Shera's voice from behind me.

"I'm not sure." I shook my head. "He's in a great deal of pain though, I know that."

Shera walked up and kneeled beside me. "How horrible." She whispered.

"He's going to die." I whimpered and started to cry. Every sound he made was like a needle stabbing my heart. No one should have to suffer this way especially not him. Always so caught up in atoning for his sins when in all reality he was innocent. He paid someone else's price and did it willingly. Such an unhappy soul with a great deal to bear on his shoulders and a curse that he didn't deserve.

"I'm sorry." Shera said and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

"What's goin on?" Barret grumbled.

"Yeah! Who's makin all that damn racket?" Cid added

Cid walked up beside where I kneeled. "Holy shit."

"What?" Barret asked and appeared on the other side of Shera. "Damn. He ain't looking so good."

"Yo Vince? You in there?" Cid hollered.

Vincent gave no hint of acknowledging Cid's call.

"He can't hear us." I sighed. "He's not even conscious."

Another hour went by and everyone was wide-awake including Reeve. Cid paced back and forth rubbing the back of his neck while Shera did her best to comfort him. Barret sat in a shady corner of the room watching Vincent, and Reeve was leaning against the wall with a dazed expression.

The sound of footsteps approaching our door put everyone on alert and I got to my feet. The door burst open and in came in 4 Turks, Lorse and 2 scientists. "Step aside Lockheart." Lorse ordered.

"What for?" I demanded standing my ground.

"If you want your friend to live, I'd do as you're told." He snapped and I was shoved aside.

Two of the Turks brushed past me and lifted Vincent's body off the ground.

"We'll keep him alive for a while longer so that we can finish the rest of our tests." Lorse added as Vincent was carried out.

"You son of a bitch!" Cid yelled and started forward. Shera grabbed his arm and tried to hold him back as the remaining two Turks came to stand in front of him. Barret walked up beside Cid his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Get yer useless ass's outa here." He growled.

"Don't worry, the tests won't start till later." Lorse smiled. "His body is much too weak to withstand them at a time like this. Come on the rest of you. Don't want to hurt any of my precious specimens."

The two Turks nodded and followed the scientists out. The door slammed behind them and the room went quiet.

"You know, we really need Cloud right now." Cid said finally breaking the silence. "We don't have shit without him. I think you can pretty much say that we are #$&!"

"Hey!" I snapped and turned away from the door to stare at my friends. I looked at each one of them trying to find even the smallest bit of hope, but there was none. They just simply stared back at me speechless. "So this is it then? You're all just going to give up because Cloud isn't here?" I asked bitterly. "What happened to all of you? You never used to give up like this."

Cid looked away shamefully. "I'm sorry Tif but-"

"No buts!" I shouted angrily. "At least try for Vincent's sake and for the others who are trying to helps us! After all I've gone through in life I've always kept hope by my side. I haven't given up yet and I don't plan to."

"Yo, Tif's right!" Barret stated. "This ain't gonna get us nowhere."

"Yeah, yeah I know." Cid answered shaking his head. "I was being stupid. You're right Tifa, we've got to stick together. Thanks for knockin some sense into me."

"That's more like it." I smiled.

Reeve took a step forward. "We may not have Cloud, but we have Sephiroth don't we? He's just as good of a replacement, maybe better." He smirked. "It's something."

"That's right." Shera said nodding sternly.

Once again I'd succeeded in bringing up the spirits of my friends. It was good to see that I hadn't lost my touch. Someone needed to step up now and I was more than willing to do so. After all it had also been me to step up back when Cloud disappeared. That was one of the hardest things I'd ever done. I'm not a leader. I never will be, but I do have a place here. It was my job to keep everyone together and that's exactly what I planned to do.

My friends looked up to me even though I was younger than almost all of them, I was smart though and I knew a lot about fighting. I wouldn't call myself a military strategist, but I could probably do better than Cid whose main intelligence rested in mechanics. I smiled, sorry Cid. Maybe I was being a little harsh. I owed them all so much for believing in me.

Sephiroth was Clouds replacement… It sounded funny. Would Sephiroth also disappear just like Cloud had? Probably. He'd run from the world and live in a concealed area where no one would ever find him. He'd run from me too.

I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes tiredly. Sleep had not been easy to obtain in the last few days and I was exhausted. My mind was plagued by worries and I missed Sephiroth more than anything. It was hard to sleep with so many things to think about, but I managed to anyways.

I was awakened again hours later, by the sound of the door opening.

Three scientists, two Turks, Lorse, Evan and Insada came inside.

I got to my feet looking between the 8 people in confusion. What is it this time?

Cid scowled and took a step forward. "What the &# do you want now?" He growled crossing his arms in a threatening manner.

The others came up beside him with fierce determination shining in their eyes. They were ready to face anything it seemed and somehow I was not. The feeling that had rooted itself in my stomach was not pleasant. Something was about to happen and I had the distinct feeling that I was not going to like it.

I froze as Insada and Evan approached and took hold of my biceps. "What's going on?" I demanded as they drug me towards the door.

Lorse smiled. "I've decided to make you my next test specimen. The strongest so far I'd say. You should be excited, you may become the next Sephiroth only in female version." He explained.

The blood drained from my face and my skin went cold.

"Ya damn #& !" Barret bellowed and went to attack him.

A Turk held him at bay with the tip of his sword.

"You better say your goodbyes while you have the chance." Lorse chuckled. "After she's been injected with my physical enhancement solution all of her memories will be erased and the Tifa Lockheart you know will cease to exist."

"Oh I'm gonna love killen you!" Cid snarled.

Lorse frowned. "It's quite unlikely you'll ever get that chance." He said. "Come along now."

"No!" I cried and tried to pull away.

Evan quickly drew Insada's dagger and held it at my neck. Insada shot him a nasty glare upon seeing his dagger in Evan's hand.

"Any one of you move and she's dead." Evan growled. "Come on Insada."

Everyone slumped in defeat and watched with helpless eyes as I was taken away. Would this be the last time I'd ever see them again? "Don't give up." I whispered as the door shut.

"Thank you Evan." Lorse muttered.

Evan twisted my arm behind my back causing me to cry out. "Are we going now?" He asked. His head lingered over my shoulder and he breathed down my neck a grin touching his lips.

"Yes." Lorse replied.

"Come princess." Evan whispered his lips brushing against my skin.

I jerked away in response and the cold blade of the dagger pressed harder against my neck.

"Naughty, naughty." He scolded.

Insada glared at him with animosity and hate. In an instant his hand curved around the dagger and twisted it out of Evan's grasp. "We're going Evan." He hissed shoving the dagger back into its scabbard. "This isn't play time."

Evan's eyes narrowed on the man standing next to him. No word escaped his mouth though I suspected he had something to say. Instead he pushed me forward down the hall.

I was taken into a room where an empty table with straps sat. There were 4 Turks standing by and several scientists bustling about. Evan released me and gave me a hard shove towards two other men. "Are we free to go?" He asked.

"Yes." Lorse responded.

Evan and Insada disappeared at the door and my two new captors started to drag me towards the dreadful table. Overcome with desperation I gave one last try at escaped if only to prevent the inevitable and was punched in the stomach by Lorse himself. I crumpled from the blow.

"Bring her to the table." He ordered.

The men dragged me across the floor and lifted me onto the table effortlessly. I screamed flailing about madly as they applied the straps. Tears slid down my cheeks and tickled my ears as my sobs echoed off the walls. "You can't do this." I whispered. My struggle proved worthless. Both my arms and legs were held by the binds now.

This was it. After the experiment was finished I would no longer exist. My memories would be taken away and so would the friends that I loved so much. Cloud, Aeris, my parents, everything that was my life would be erased.

My eyes finally closed and I relaxed against the table. There was no point in fighting back now…it was over. I've never been so afraid in my life. There were so many things I wished to do and had yet to experience, why now? I drifted into my subconscious mind no longer aware of the outside world and held close to me everything that I cherished.

_Sephiroth…_

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**Author's Notes:** I'm so evil! What a cliffhanger… I can imagine that there are some very anxious people out there who'd very much like to throttle me after cutting the chapter off at such a climactic part of the story. Don't worry though the next chapter will be up very soon(I think). You won't have to wait long to find out what happens next! I hope I'm living up to expectations with this new installation! Don't forget to review! I appreciate it very much! Thank you again everyone, I'm glad that you all have enjoyed my story so far! 

Happy Holidays!


	8. Chapter 8:It Only Gets Weirder

**Chapter 8: **_It Only Gets Weirder_**  
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**Disclaimer:** I don't own FF7.

To my reviewers: A thousand pardons for being so late on this update! I'm dreadfully sorry about it! It's just that the last week has been extremely bad (Excluding Christmas, that was about the only high point of the week) My biggest problem when writing is that I start to hate my stories when I'm right in the middle of them. For about 4 days I couldn't even stand to look at this. I know that there are lots of perfectionists out there, but believe me when I say that I take perfectionist to the next level. Anyways, enough of my whining! Here's the next chapter! I hope it's good! (As usual.)

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I'm here my lady…_

The words played in the back of my mind like a sweet melody. I clung to them as I lay there at the brink of consciousness drowning in my fear. Had I really heard his voice or was it only a hallucination conjured up by my despair and helplessness?

I wanted to believe it. That I could be saved from this horrible fate, but it was much too good to be true. All I had to do was open my eyes and see. Did I dare do such a thing and risk seeing the syringe as it forced the alien fluids into my body?

The thought was too terrifying. I didn't want to open my eyes to this painful reality. I'd found a peaceful place here where I could accept my fate and be done with it.

"Tifa?"

Someone was calling to me, from the outside. It was very faint, but I was certain that I'd heard it. There was something urgent and desperate in the voice that drew me out of my semi-coma and back into the world.

I couldn't feel the straps that had once bound me to this wretched table. Warm hands cradled my head as I lay there. I gradually opened my eyes unsure and fearful of what I would see. Sephiroth had never looked so beautiful. Words could not express the immense joy that I felt in that moment as I stared into his lovely mako eyes.

"You came!" I cried with relief and threw my arms around his neck.

He lifted me off the dreadful table and set me on my feet. "Are you alright?" He asked urgently. His hands took hold of my shoulders firmly and pushed me away.

I nodded. "Yes."

"Good." He answered and started for the door. "Nanaki and Yuffie are getting the others. We are to meet them at the Highwind." He called.

I lifted my head in surprise. "Nanaki and Yuffie are both here?" I echoed. "Who's taking care of the girls?" I asked, immediately overcome with worry. Had they been recaptured?

"The girls are fine. Elmyra is taking care of them." He answered. "Oh, here." He pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to me.

I reached out clumsily in attempt to catch the mysterious things flying at me. My eyes brightened happily as my hands wrapped firmly around the objects. "My gloves!" I exclaimed. "Where did you find them?"

"They were lying on a table in one of the rooms I went through on my way here." He responded.

I slid my beloved weapons onto my hands and flexed my fists. The gloves rubbed slightly against the old wounds on my wrists, but it was nothing serious. "I've been so worried about other things I never gave much thought to them till now. Thank you." I said softly studying them with a curious and loving eye.

"You may need them." Sephiroth said. "Come on."

I didn't move. Something was nagging at the back of my mind, but why? The others were with Yuffie and Nanaki. Vincent… My eyes widened as I remembered that he was not with the others. "Wait!" I shouted as Sephiroth opened the door.

He whirled around to meet my gaze. "What?"

"Vincent isn't with the others!" I exclaimed urgently. "We've got to find him or else…" My voice trailed off as the bitter reality resurfaced.

The sound of laughter ringing out from behind us caused me to reel around.

Lorse was standing there among three others his eyes glimmering humorously. "I'm glad to find you are both still here. I'm afraid I can't hand Vincent over to you, he's much too valuable." He shook his head. "I've something else planned, care to meet my creations?" He grinned.

My face twisted in disgust as I examined the three men who'd now placed themselves in front of Lorse. They looked almost normal, but their eyes glowed a vibrant red and had no pupils. The one in the middle, the strongest looking of them all, carried two short swords. The man to his left, a thin quick looking fighter, held two daggers and the third man who looked to be the weakest carried a scythe like weapon.

Sephiroth stepped up beside me the masamune ready in his right hand. His eyes narrowed with hatred on Lorse and he took a step forward. "The coward returns." He hissed.

"Of course! I've got to test my specimens and see how they rank against the greatest creation of all time!" He piped happily. "I've been awaiting this moment for days! These were once the frailest of men, you know? Let's see how my solution transformed them! Go on my fighting machines, show me your worth!"

The three fighters advanced slowly their demon like eyes studying us intently. A shiver ran up my spine and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. They may have looked mostly normal, but they gave off an awfully strong aura that left me trembling in my shoes. One could never know what to expect from scientifically altered beings.

"I'll handled the one in the middle and the one to his right." Sephiroth said and charged forward leaving me behind.

The man with the daggers slipped passed Sephiroth wasting no time and attacking me at once. He was fast, as I suspected, but not quite as fast as Sephiroth. It would be a hard battle, but I could win granted that I didn't make any mistakes. I jumped back avoiding the glistening blade of the first dagger. The second just barely missed and I countered with a punch to his stomach. The blow landed, but he caught me on the retreat. Red liquid trickled down my arm from the wound and splattered onto the white floor.

My opponent grinned at the sight of the blood and came at me quickly the momentum on his side now. It would not last long though. I dodged another of his attacks and caught his right hand with my steel-toed boot. The knife flew across the room clattering to the floor several yards away. Now it was my time to smile I thought and landed an elbow into his face. A satisfying sound of crunching bones and cartilage followed.

I bounded backwards quickly expecting an immediate counter that didn't come. My eyes widened as blue blood streamed out of the man's broken nose. He made no attempt at attacking again. His eyes closed and his lips began to move rapidly as he muttered strange words beneath his breath.

For a moment I just stood there dumbstruck and unsure of what I should do. The sudden realization that something very bad was going to happen hit me and I started after him in desperation. Just as I was about to reach him the blade of the masamune pierced his stomach. I jumped to the side avoiding getting gored myself and watched sadly as the body slumped to the ground. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the three men lying still on the floor around us. Their memories had no doubt been taken away. Who ever they once had been was lost.

Sephiroth yanked his sword out and signaled for me to follow him. I ran after him as he disappeared through a back door and into another long hall. Lorse disappeared around a corner at the very end just as we entered. We rounded the same corner just in time to see a door slam and two Turks appear to intercept us. Sephiroth wiped them out in an instant and burst into the room Lorse had disappeared into.

I skipped over the bodies and followed him inside. Sephiroth had come to a sudden halt and I just barely spared myself from crashing into him. I stepped up beside him peering around his shoulder curiously. My jaw dropped and my hand flew up to cover my mouth in complete shock and dismay.

Lorse held a gun in his trembling hand the barrel pointed at Vincent's chest. "D-d-don't come any closer!" He stammered. "I'll s-s-shoot him." It seemed that fear had finally needled its way into his soul. It was about time!

Vincent was standing on his own two feet glaring at Lorse through narrow slits. "Do it, I dare you!" He challenged his lips curving into a sinful grin. "It may turn out to be the worst mistake of your life though."

Lorse took a step away from Vincent eyeing him skeptically. "W-what are you talking about?"

Vincent's grin only widened his eyes burning with hatred. He took a step forward towards the terrified Lorse. "Perhaps you'd like to find out first hand what it's like to house chaos in your body?"

"NO! Get away!" Lorse shrieked and the gun fired.

The bullet landed in Vincent's chest and he staggered back his teeth clenched, but he didn't fall. Dark, scarlet blood poured out of the wound yet Vincent paid it no heed.

"Vincent!" I cried in astonishment and started after Lorse in a mindless rage. Sephiroth's arm slipped around my waist and pulled me back at the last moment.

"Don't." Sephiroth warned me his cold stare transfixed on Lorse.

"I'll shoot her too!" Lorse cried as he swung the barrel around to point at me.

I froze still.

Sardonic laughter split the air and Vincent's clawed hand reached out and clamped onto Lorse's wrist. Lorse screamed out in pain as the sharp fingertips dug into his skin and the gun fell from his bleeding hand.

My eyes widened as a swirl of black surrounded the two and Vincent began to chant in an odd language I'd never head before. The room shuddered violently as massive amounts of an invisible force exercised its foundations.

A burst of powerful energy threw both Sephiroth and myself backwards. Another shriek pierced the air. The black fog dwindled away, and revealed Vincent kneeling in exhaustion and Lorse wrenching his blood drenched arm away from Vincent's claw.

"Wha-what's going on?" Lorse gasped. His body convulsed violently and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. Then it stopped and his eyelids closed. An awkward silence fell upon the entire room as he stood there unmoving his face emotionless.

A mixture of confusion and fear consumed me. What on earth had just happened? No one dared move for fear of awakening something terrible. At this moment in time I was of the opinion that anything could happen and I was 100 sure that it would be bad.

I jerked back in horror as Lorse's eyes shot open revealing an endless blackness. His eyes shined like onyx stones with queer amusement. There was an odd intelligence there too though, like that of a wise man who knows all. This was not Lorse, not anymore. As if on cue the purple wings of Chaos burst out from his shoulder blades.

He grinned. "It's been a while since I've had the upper hand in my mutual relationship, but really Vincent this man is pathetic!" He chuckled the sound coming out in a more grotesque manner than perhaps intended. "Couldn't you've chosen someone else?"

Vincent scowled at the demon. "My options were limited." He growled in response.

Chaos sighed. "Pity." His frown quickly transformed into a gleeful smile. "But oh the things I can do now!" He cried spreading his arms towards the ceiling. "This place definitely needs to go." He stated. A few silent words escaped his lips and the entire building began to tremble in response.

Sephiroth pulled me to my feet eyeing the demon cautiously.

Vincent slumped to the ground at Chaos's feet his life ebbing away ever so slowly. What I couldn't understand was why Vincent looked so completely calm when everything was quite clearly out of control!

Chaos' eyes narrowed and he nudged Vincent in the thigh. "What are you doing going off and dying like that you idiot? You don't think I actually plan on staying in this wretched body do you?" He let out a growl of annoyance. He turned away and eyed us curiously. "I'll give you a head start, but no more. I'd hurry if I were you." He said and busted up through the ceiling.

I raced to Vincent's side in an instant. "Vincent…" It was the only thing that I could think of to say. To ask if he was ok would be absolutely ridiculous since it was obvious that he was NOT ok.

His eyes were closed for the moment as he laid there his breathing slow and steady. Blood oozed from the wound that should have killed him by now. A long slow breath emitted his lips and he opened his eyes to look past me. "Sephiroth…come here."

"What for?" He asked suspiciously.

Vincent pulled out a small leather journal and handed it to me. "Read what it says. Page 12. The first entry."

"But Vincent! This place is going to collapse! We don't have time!" I cried in protest.

"Just do it!" He snapped.

I nodded quickly and opened the journal to page 12.

"June 13: It has been 3 days since the birth of Sephiroth, the child I've been waiting for. It seems that my plans will not go exactly as planned unfortunately, but I cannot stop the experiment now for we are too far into the project. After conducting blood tests on the child to be sure of the parents I made a rather startling discovery. The child is in fact not mine. Though it irks me beyond comprehension the boy will have to suffice." I stopped here and gaped at the page. Unbelievable…

Sephiroth let out a short gasp from behind me. I took a deep breath and continued on. "The boys real father is my wife's supposed lover Vincent Valentine." The leather book slipped from my stunned hands and landed in Vincent's lap.

Slow footsteps approached from behind me. Sephiroth stopped down and snatched up the journal. He leafed through the pages and began to read the passage. When he finished he threw it aside and averted his gaze to Vincent his expression literally unreadable.

Parts of the ceiling began to fall about us and I jumped to my feet. "If we don't get out we'll be crushed!" I said urgently. Looking back and forth between the two motionless figures.

Both of them ignored me.

Vincent's eyes gazed directly into Sephiroth's. "You must go to see your mother." He coughed. "Her soul must be put to rest for she still mourns over you. Tifa knows the way, let her show you." He stopped for a moment and looked up at me. "Goodbye Tifa, for the moment. Now go before it's too late."

Sephiroth nodded and spun around swiftly coming to my side.

I opened my mouth in protest, but Sephiroth had taken a hold of my wrist and was pulling me out of the room before I could say anything but goodbye. Tears streaked down my befuddled face as I stumbled lamely behind him. What did Vincent mean by 'for the moment'? This was it, wasn't it?

Somehow I managed to keep up with Sephiroth's blistering pace and not trip in the process. He'd not let me go yet and gave no hint of doing so. This made it ten times harder to stay on my feet for he was practically dragging me down the hall.

Several times I narrowly missed a piece of falling ceiling. Finally the stairs that lead to the surface appeared. Unfortunately there were several others who'd also arrived at the same moment we did. Sephiroth plowed through the terror stricken men and woman, and force his way to the door. Upon setting foot above ground, our speed of movement did not lessen.

Only when the Highwind finally came into view along with Yuffie and the others did we slow down. Then the ground gave a hard jolt and began to crack beneath our feet.

"Hurry!" Yuffie cried jumping up and down madly. The others had already started up the ladder to avoid taking a fatal plunge into the dark depths below.

Sephiroth released me as we came to a halt before Yuffie.

"Where's Vincent?" She asked the fear embedding itself in her heart.

"He's not coming." Sephiroth responded curtly. "I suggest we get going before the ground swallow's us. Now."

Yuffie nodded quietly and hurried up the ladder. I climbed up after her and Sephiroth came up behind me. Barret, Nanaki and Reeve were waiting at the top for us.

"Vincent is dead?" Reeve inquired.

"Most likely." Sephiroth responded and disappeared inside. The others followed.

I stepped up to the railing and watched as people scurried across the Midgar ruins like ants. Giant cracks formed and several sections collapsed a good 20 feet into the earth. Chaos had done a job on it, but what for? What were we dealing with now and why on earth had Vincent done this? It didn't make sense to me, but I had a feeling Vincent knew something that he failed to share with the rest of us. That was his way I guess.

The Highwind turned slowly around and started off. Another section of the ruins collapsed and a large mushroom cloud of dust projected into the air as we sped away.

Padded footsteps approached from behind me. "Let's go inside Tifa." Nanaki spoke and turned to leave.

"Ok." I answered softly and followed him inside.

Nanaki twisted his head around to look at me while we walked. "It's good to see you again Tifa." He said.

"It's good to see you again too, Nanaki." I replied.

The others had already headed to the bridge and were waiting for us when we arrived.

A painful silence hovered in the air. Sullen faces looked our way for only a short moment before they turned back to some inanimate object and their morning thoughts.

Barret's face formed a deepened scowl and he took a step forward. "What's goin on now? Someone mind tellin the rest of us who wasn't present at the time?" He growled irritably and waited impatiently for an answer. His eyes were fastened on Sephiroth who was currently standing with his back turned to us at the front of the bridge.

I sighed heavily letting my shoulders slump forward for a short instant. The small sound brought everyone's attention to me, excluding Sephiroth who apparently had no interest in us at the moment. They watched me with expectant eyes as I nervously cleared my throat and explained what happened.

Fifteen minutes later I finished and gladly stopped to take a break from speaking.

Cid kicked a nearby wall and let out a string of notorious curses. "Now we got ($#&$ (&$#(& Chaos running around!" His grumbling didn't cease for quite some time while the rest of us stood quietly… that wasn't entirely true though, Barret also had a few words to put in, but I'd rather not repeat what I believe he was saying.

"When we arrive at Cosmo Canyon I'll speak to Grandfather." Nanaki announced. "I do not believe that Vincent is dead after what Tifa has told us. I'm certain that he isn't. He's up to something, all we have to do is figure out what it is."

"How's he gonna live through that though?" Yuffie cried. Her motion sickness had apparently taken the day off it seemed, which was a first. "I'd like to believe it, but it just doesn't seem very likely, if you know what I mean."

"It certainly doesn't." Reeve agreed. "How do you figure that anyways Nanaki?"

"I remind all of you that Vincent has also been injected with Jenova cells. This may be the key to his survival." Nanaki answered. "Besides, Vincent is not the type who will give in easily. He stayed because he knew he wouldn't make it out with Tifa and Sephiroth, he was too weak. But, he may have had an idea. There is still a chance that Vincent is alive."

"It may only be a small bit of hope, but it's something." Shera sighed. "When will we be arriving at Cosmo Canyon?"

"Bout 5 hours." Cid replied a cigarette lodged into the corner of his mouth.

A rustling of clothing caused me to turn my attention to Sephiroth who'd finally decided to turn around and acknowledge our existence. His eyes landed on me. "Didn't you forget something?"

I frowned my mind searching about for what I could possibly have missed. The memory slapped me across the back of the head. "Oh. I see." I answered. "Do you want me to tell them?"

"You might as well." Sephiroth answered and turned back around.

"What now!" Barret exclaimed his eyes narrowing.

" Vincent is Sephiroth's father." I blurted out. My hands laced together behind my back and I studied the floor absentmindedly. I myself had not yet had the chance to let the information sink in. It had been so unexpected.

"Yer kidding me!" Yuffie yelled and let her jaw drop.

"Huh?" Barret's scowl formed into a wide-eyed bewildered stare.

Reeve placed his hands in his pockets again his usually look of uncertainty etched on his face.

Cid's cigarette was now lying on the floor, his mouth gaping open. Shera stood beside him her eyes seemingly looking into space, lost and befuddled.

"That's not quite as impossible as it may seem." Nanaki remarked his bushy brows knitting together thoughtfully. "I should have suspected it before, there is quite a resemblance between the two if you compare them. Vincent's past is directly connected with this entire Hojo debacle and his twisted experiment too."

"(#(, this gets weirder and weirder every damn minute!" Cid grumbled and seized the cigarette lying on the floor. "What about the Black Materia and the remainder of Lorse's followers?"

"It is possible that whatever Vincent was doing may be tied in with the black materia." Nanaki replied. "Right now we must concentrate on figuring out what exactly Chaos plans to do though. "

"Cause chaos?" Cid suggested with a grin.

"That's not even remotely funny." Yuffie mumbled and gave him an elbow in the ribs.

"Ouch!" He yelped and reached out to grab her. She bounded out of range easily.

"As for the remainder of Lorse's followers," Nanaki said loudly eyeing Cid and Yuffie with a bit of annoyance. "We'll hunt them down once Chaos has been dealt with."

Cid straitened up and nodded sternly. "Damn right!" He exclaimed. "I'd love to run that little bastard Evan through with my Venus Gospel."

"Don't we all." I answered in agreement feeling the heat of anger rise inside me at the simple mentioning of the bastard's name.

"So, is our meeting over then?" Yuffie interrupted. "I'm kinda sleepy."

"Yes." Nanaki replied. "We can't really find out anything till we arrive at Cosmo Canyon, but it won't hurt to think about it." He added. "If anything comes to mind don't hesitate to share it."

"Sleepy!" Barret shouted completely ignoring Nanaki's suggestion of 'thinking' just like everyone else. "It's 3 in the afternoon!"

Yuffie shot him a death glare. "So? Putting up with 'Mister I'm all mighty' over there is kind of exhausting you know?"

Barret smirked. "You'd think it'd be the other way around."

"Why you!" Yuffie shook her fist at him, but her energy fleeted away rather quickly. "If I wasn't so tired I'd…I'd…" Her mouth closed abruptly and her eyes wondered around in a state of confusion.

"You'd what?" Barret asked.

"Shut up, I'm trying to think here!" She snapped.

I stretched an arm around Yuffie's shoulder and gave Barret a warning look. "Don't tempt her, she's much too tired to be wrestling around with you." I said and lead her away.

Yuffie yawned tiredly and her eyes closed letting most of her weight lean against me.

I ended up half carrying, half dragging her down the stairs and across the grating to where she usually hung out. I frowned at the hard, cold floor and looked around for something that might be a little more comfortable for her.

"Here." Shera's voice rang out from behind me. She brushed past me and stretched out a large cotton blanket on the floor. "At least it won't be quite as cold."

"Good idea." I answered and put Yuffie down on the blanket. "Are there more where that came from?"

"I've got another one right here." Shera replied and draped the second blanket over Yuffie's sleeping form. Shera turned around placing her hands on her hips. "Well, it's been quite a hectic week, hasn't it?"

"Yes." I said softly and started back towards the bridge. "I can't say that I'm not a little tired either. Sleeping in that prison was nearly impossible."

"I know." Shera said as she walked beside me. She tilted her head to look at me curiously. "Tifa?"

"Hmm?" I murmured curiously.  
"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." I responded adding a smile of reassurance. Although I could be better I thought to myself. Sephiroth's behavior was gradually upsetting me more and more each minute.

The bridge was mostly silent when we returned. The gentle tap of cards hitting a hard surface was the only thing that could be heard. My gaze followed the sound to Barret, Reeve and Cid who were all engaged in a game of cards. I couldn't blame them, there wasn't much else to do and it was a nice way to relax when things weren't going so well.

I smiled lightly as I walked passed taking my place to the right of Sephiroth. He didn't appear to notice me as I guessed he wouldn't. This only intensified my current anger towards him. I'd come to the conclusion long ago when he'd rescued me that there was something definitely wrong, but what? Three extremely long, lonely days had passed since we were parted and now that he was back he wouldn't speak to me.

I snuck a glance at him and his eyes immediately shifted towards mine. I jumped, taken by surprise, and averted my gaze quickly away to the ocean that now lay before us.

"Yes?" The sharpness of his voice shattered my train of thought and made me shudder.

I whirled around, his sudden outburst catching me by surprise. "W-what?" I stammered idiotically.

His eyes narrowed. "Don't be stupid Lockheart, I saw that. What do you want?"

My cheeks flushed furiously. "I don't know what you're talking about." I retorted and went back to staring at the ocean. The rhythmic flowing of the water calmed my anger and kept me from punching him in the nose. Sometimes he could be so arrogant and annoying! And what was all this about? Everything had been fine before! Why was he suddenly being so cruel? What had I done?

His glare remained on me for quite some time before he finally looked away. I stood there for an hour just gazing at the ocean trying to figure out why he was being the way he was. Too bad we still had another 4 hours to go I thought miserably. I placed my hands on the rail and rested my head on them tiredly.

"Yo Tif!" Barret called.

"What?" I asked turning to face the three card players.

"We need another player for Oh Hell." He answered. "Ya know how ta play?"

My lips curved into a wide grin. "Yes." I answered and swiftly approached the table.

Cid pulled out a chair. "Then have a seat. Ain't like there's something else to do. Can't understand how you manage to stand there for so long without dying of boredom anyways. You look like you need some cheering up." He winced.

"Thanks Cid." I smiled and sat down on the empty chair. This would be interesting I thought. I'd played a lot of Oh Hell in my time. It was one of my favorite card games, but it had been a while. Now it was time to find out just how rusty I was.

We spent the next 4 hours playing card games. After the first two games of Oh Hell, both of which I won, everyone decided to switch to Hearts in hopes that they might beat me there. Luckily for them I detested Hearts and lost the majority of the first few hands, but as the playing progressed I found my game once again. Towards the end I really started to get lucky, or in Cid and Barret's terms, I was stacking the deck.

The Highwind came to a halt after the pilot announced our arrival at Cosmo Canyon and everyone filed out of the bridge except for myself. I was left to clean up the cards that had been scattered across the floor after Cid's loss of control (He'd lost for the 5th time in a row and couldn't take it anymore). Barret had pitched a few of his own cards as well. Reeve had been polite enough to leave his cards on the table bless his heart, but that was mostly because he won all the hands I lost.

Cid and Barret were not excellent card players by any means and after Cid's first attempt at cheating things went steadily down hill from there for him. As for Barret, there really was no explenation for his horrible bad luck and ghastly card playing.

I neatly stacked the cards on the table and hurried to catch up with the others. Thoughts of food, a shower and rest filled my head bringing a smile to my face. It would be nice to clean up and get a good night's sleep for once, but was it possible with so many things on my mind?

Eventually I caught up with the others just as they were heading inside. Elmyra, Marlene and Melony awaited us there and the girls were finally reunited with their parents. It was the highest point of my day seeing the smiles on their faces. It must have been hard for the two families to have their children taken away.

A late dinner was served for us and we were finally able to quench our hunger. It was already 10 p.m. when I finished and a few of the others had already gone to sleep, namely Yuffie. She was barely awake during dinner, just enough to chew her food and swallow. Barret and his daughter retired to their room as well to get some rest. It was no surprise that everyone was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

I rested my weary muscles in a hot bath for almost an hour after eating. The herbs that had been placed in the water had helped to sooth my aching muscles and allowed me to relax for a short while. Getting out was not easy, but I couldn't stay there forever and the water was getting cold. I fumbled around with my clothing for a bit fighting off goose bumps in the process. Eventually I got everything on and was not quite as cold as I was before.

Again I was stuck with a blasted hair dryer to dry my hair. I really wasn't fond of them for some reason, but if I were to sleep tonight my hair would have to be dry or else I'd be a miserable wreck for the entire night. Nothing is worse than sleeping on a wet pillow.

Once the time consuming job was finally finished I headed to the room that I shared with Yuffie. I slipped inside to be engulfed by darkness and tip toed over to my bed. Silver light peeked through the window and illuminated a small portion of the floor. My gaze traveled outside and I approached the window curiously. As I looked out the moon shed her brilliance on me. The moon was simply stunning tonight and for a moment I felt at peace.

Sephiroth hovered in my mind though refusing to go away. Just the thought of him and his anger towards me earlier caused my mood to plummet into the ground. I sighed and shot a glance at my untouched bed. I could already feel anxiousness driving its fangs into my flesh, but I crawled under the covers of my bed just the same and tried to rest my tired body.

**

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**

**Author's Notes**: Whew, I'm so exhausted. I've been working non-stop for the last 3 days. Finally this chapter is up! Again I'm very sorry for not updating quickly like I said I would. Writer depression caught me by surprise. Anyways, I hope that everyone had an excellent Christmas! Please review too (if it's good, which I hope it is)! You're encouragement motivates me to get chapters out faster! Oh and I'm positive that chapter 9 will be up in only 3 or 4 more days. (The first half of it was originally going to be part of this chapter, but it was much to long, over 8000 words!)

I'd like to give thanks to my brother Kiche who helped me come up with the idea of having Chaos become a major part of the story! Without his help I don't think I would have been able to finish this chapter near as quickly as I did (that's scary considering how long it DID take me to get this up).


	9. Chapter 9:We Will Find a Way

**Chapter 9: **_We Will Find A Way_**  
**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own ff7.

Hello again and Happy New Year everyone! Well I'm quite certain that this chapter is much better than the last, I wasn't happy with the results of the last. Not as many people seemed to like it, but anyways! Here's the next one. Read, review, but most of all please enjoy!

* * *

The attempt at sleep proved to be a complete failure after I tossed and turned in my bed for a good two hours. Who would have thought that someone could be so tired and yet not be able to fall asleep? It's a mystery to me and highly annoying too. Now I was stuck lying here restless and staring blankly at the ceiling above me. The funny thing is all I was thinking about was barging into Sephiroth's room and strangling him. After all it was his fault I was awake, or at least I was blaming it on him. 

There were a few other things that were bothering me, but it was Sephiroth who haunted my mind and wouldn't leave me alone. It aggravated and confused me the way his personality had changed since we parted. He was shunning me away as if I was only a mere annoyance. After three days of hoping and waiting for him to come, he acts cold and hateful towards me. What had I done? That was the question that had been bouncing off the walls of my head for the past two hours.

I hadn't done anything! He was just being cold, arrogant and forbidding like I always remembered him being. This was before he went insane of course. He always had a coldness to him even before he'd lost his mind. I'd seen it and in truth I couldn't blame him. Hojo raised him to be that way, but Sephiroth still had a heart like everyone else. He just locked it away in hopes that no one would ever find it.

I caught a glimpse of another side of Sephiroth, a side where he was compassionate and kind. It was somewhere in there, you just had to look for it.

I threw my blankets aside letting them tumbled to the floor and sat up. It would be a long night for me it seemed. I pushed myself off the bed and tip toed across the room to the door sparing one last glance back. Yuffie was sleeping soundly on her bed, her mind untroubled and at peace. I envied her right then, I would have given anything to feel at peace for once.

As I walked along the dark halls carefully feeling my way about, I made my way up the stairs to the next level. Nanaki had a library somewhere around here I was sure. He'd mentioned having it built a few years ago and since there wasn't anything else for me to do, why not read? We needed to seek out information anyways and that was a good place to start.

It didn't take me long to find it despite my blindness. I slipped through the door into the nearly pitch black room and made my way to the back where a window sat. My eyes tried to focus in the darkness, but I could only make out a vague outline of bookcases. Many bookcases. Nanaki had himself quite a collection.

I grimaced as my foot slammed into something very hard. "Ouch!" I gasped and limped around the hazard. My hands slid across the splintery surface of what I'd guessed to be a table in search of a candle. Cold metal met my skin and my fingers curved around the candleholder. Now all I needed was some matches and I'd be set. Unfortunately after several times of feeling over the table I found none.

I was half way out the door when I realized that I was still wearing my fighting gloves and most likely had a fire materia with me. I searched for the familiar green gleam, finding it immediately, and headed back to the table to light the candle. After careful planning I managed to ignite a small flame on the wick without putting the table on fire or worse. You had to be careful when dealing with a mastered fire materia. One has a slim amount of control over its power once it has been cast.

The small candle emitted a dim glow, but it was plenty enough to see the surrounding area. I held my breath in utter astonishment at the size of the library. I'd not expected it to be nearly so big. There were hundreds of books here the majority of them on history according to Nanaki. There was one small section for Hojo's work too, which I purposely avoided and hurried passed it onto the next row of books. I'd no interest in reading the contents of his twisted mind.

The line of books seemed to never end. "Beyond This World." I echoed as I read the golden letters printed on the spine of one particular book. The words were faded and the leather cover was beginning to wear. I grasped the book carefully in my hand and gently pulled it out. A single page fell from the innards of the book and fluttered silently to the floor. As I stooped down to pick it up the candle I'd set on the floor lit the surface of the page and my eyes widened. Jenova.

I hesitated for a moment and shook my head. "Get control of yourself Tifa, she's not going to jump out from the paper." I scolded myself and snatched the page off the floor. Still, a strange sensation washed over me as if coming in contact with something immensely powerful and dangerous. I shoved it inside the book, grabbed the candle and reluctantly headed for the small table to sit down.

There were so many mysteries about the alien Jenova. I was curious to know more about her, but the real reason for my hesitation was fear. Well, there would be no more fear tonight. I had to find something out and I was certain that this book held important information.

I took a seat on the small wooden chair and let out a long sigh. Not a minute after opening the book I heard footsteps of all things coming towards the door. I lifted my head curiously and looked from the candle to the door. If it really was a foe I seriously doubt they'd be heading for the library of all places, I assured myself. I really didn't want to blow the candle out because then I'd have to light it again afterwards and I'd rather not take another risk at burning the place down. Nanaki would never forgive me.

The door swung open sending a gust of wind inside and my eyes darted to the candle as the flame faltered. I held my breath waiting for it to die and let out a sigh of relief when it fluttered back to life. My eyes slowly rose to meet Sephiroth's surprised gaze. "Hello." I said quietly and pretended to read.

"What the devil are you doing here?" He demanded.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came up here to read." I answered. "I haven't been in Nanaki's new library till now and I wanted to see it. As far as I know that's still legal here." I added irritably.

"You'll be exhausted in the morning." Sephiroth warned and shut the door behind him. "But I'm not in the mood to deal with your stubbornness."

"Well, I'm not in the mood to deal with your atrocious attitude." I retorted. "You don't need to act like it's my fault I can't sleep! Believe me I'd welcome it gladly if I could." I finished and stood up from the small table. Everything had been going so well and then he had to arrive harboring his ill temper.

"You're thinking too much." He replied while approaching the table.

"Maybe you shouldn't give me so much to think about." I answered briskly and brushed passed him. His hand slid around my wrist and pulled me back around to face him suddenly. My eyes focused on his face studying him curiously while I wondered why he'd stopped me. He was hauntingly beautiful in the dim light of the candle and for once not quite as angry looking.

"What do you mean by that?" He questioned.

I gently pulled my hand away. "If you don't know then perhaps you should take some time to think about it." I responded and gave him a wistful smile. My heart screamed for me to speak of my suffering and tell him what I felt, but my courage wavered.

Sephiroth just stared at me his expression neither confused nor angry, simply yearning. Yearning for something that I was too blind to understand at that moment. He made no move to speak so I turned away and started to leave.

"Tifa, wait." He called from behind me as my hand gripped the metal handle of the door.

I stopped and turned to face him. "What?" I asked, hope glimmering in my eyes.

He looked away shamefully with his head bowed. "I owe you an apology." He said his eyes trailing to the nearby window. "For my behavior today towards you. I'm sorry."

I slowly walked up to stand in front of him. "It's alright. I'll forgive you, but only if you tell me why."

Sephiroth stole a quick glance at me and averted his eyes to the floor. "Denial, my lady, extreme denial." He answered.

I tilted my head to the side, not completely sure as to what he meant. "I don't know what you mean."

His back turned to me abruptly and he stepped up to the widow beyond the table to peer outside. "The more time we spend together the more I change." He replied quietly. "From the very first moment I saw you something changed inside me. I didn't understand at first just what the feeling was, but after you were gone and I had time to think strait the answer presented itself before me. I'd never imagined it ever happening to me, it wasn't possible and I couldn't accept it. I feared it because I was vulnerable to it, something that I rarely experience."

His words weaved their way into my heart and I held my breath waiting to wake up from the dream that I was sure I had walked into. I came up behind him and placed a tentative hand on his arm. What was he saying? I dared not guess in fear that I might be disappointed with the true answer.

He shuddered beneath my touch and placed his own hand on top of mine, but did not take his eyes away from the sky. "When I came to rescue you, I was prepared to fight off the desire you bring about in me and push you away. It's clear to me now that trying to deny what one's heart feels is pointless and only makes you suffer more." He stopped there and turned to face me. "It's the strangest thing. The moment I set eyes on you after entering your bar I fell in love with you. Just like that after so many years of never caring about anyone with the idea that I never would, I see you and my world is turned upside down."

My eyes widened and I let out a short gasp of surprise. I blushed furiously as my heart fluttered around in my chest with joy. "Please tell me this isn't a dream." I murmured my gaze transfixed on his eyes as I waited for him to disappear. It was too real to be a dream though, much too real. My rapid heard beat and the shiver of need that enveloped my entire body were both real.

Sephiroth slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer so that our faces were barely an inch apart. "If it is, then it's the most blissful dream I've ever had in my life." He whispered. His alluring lips brushed against mine teasing my emotions and arousing my hunger for him.

I pushed myself onto my tiptoes and into his mouth unable to withstand his torment anymore. I'd waited much too long for this to have it prolonged any further, even if I found his game to be very enticing.

He responded eagerly and tightened his grip around me making it impossible for us to be any closer. My hands roomed up his neck and into his long, silky hair. A soft moan escaped from the back of my throat as a tingling sensation sprouted from inside me and spread through out the rest of my soul. I cried tears of joy and continued to kiss him anxiously.

I'd never wanted someone so much in my entire life. Not even Cloud, but maybe that was because I never was able to get close to him, I don't know. It didn't matter though. This was the man I wanted. There was no doubt in my mind that I loved him and only him. He surrounded me in his warmth and love surrendering his heart to me. The way he made me feel was like nothing I'd ever experienced. I needed him. His strength and protective embrace, his kiss and his touch, everything he gave me I needed and desired. No one else could give me this.

Sephiroth pulled away, a groan escaping his lips. "You would have me after all the misery I've caused you?" He asked suddenly. His eyes delved deep into my soul searching for the answer.

"I love you." I said softly and rested my head against his shoulder the burden finally lifted. "You're the only one I want, no one else. I don't blame you for the past. All that matters to me now is that you love me. I don't want to be alone anymore and I don't want to suffer heart break again."

He gently kissed my hair and stroked the side of my face sending another shiver up my spine. "I do love you and I always will. You'll never be alone again my lady."

My hands clutched at his overcoat tightly. His words were pure and true, but how could we ever overcome his immortality and my mortality? "But…you'll stay young while I'll grow old and die." I whispered painfully.

Sephiroth took me by the shoulders, pushing me gently away and stared directly into my eyes. "We will find a way." He said sternly. "I promise you."

A smile tugged at my lips. "I believe you." I answered and closed my eyes tiredly.

"You're exhausted." He said quietly. "You'd better get some rest. I can't imagine you slept well in a cell."

"What about you?" I asked curiously lifting my head up to meet his gaze.

"I'm not tired." He responded simply.

I scowled. "At 3 in the morning?" I asked. "I don't believe you. What did you come up here for anyway?"

His eyes shifted nervously. "I wanted information."  
I nodded silently. "I thought so. You never knew who your real mother was, did you?"

"No, I didn't. Hojo told me my mother was Jenova." Sephiroth replied softly.

"It must be awkward for you." I said quietly.

"What?" He asked.

"Finding out that your father wasn't who you thought he was." I replied. "It came as quite a shock to me being that Vincent is a good friend of mine…or was."

Sephiroth sighed and looked out the window. "It's a little awkward, but to be truthful I feel no different than before. I didn't care about the people I thought were my parents, unless you want to count Jenova. They didn't care about me so I didn't care about them. Hojo made it plain that that was the way it should be so I complied."

I bit my lip sadly. "Your real parents did care." I uttered.

His head turned towards me. "Did they? I wouldn't know. There are several holes that I see in Vincent being my actual father, but I'm guessing there must be some sort of explanation for this."

Exhaustion really was starting to get to me now. I took a look around quickly and spotted a comfortable looking couch. Without a word I approached it and flopped down on the soft cushions. Every library should have a couch to relax on I thought with a smile.

Sephiroth followed behind and sat down beside me. He leaned his sword up against the wall. "Well?"

I took a deep breath and began to explain Vincent's story. There really wasn't all that much to say. Vincent would only give us minimal information about his past. I had to practically force it out of him, which I hated to do, but I wanted to know more thinking that I might be of some help. He never got mad about it, but you could tell he was a little agitated from time to time.

Sephiroth was a quiet and attentive listener, thankfully, never interrupting me while I explained. I was extremely glad for that because I was going to fall asleep any moment and I wanted to get the explanation over with as soon as possible. Unfortunately he had questions that followed and I did my best to answer them without losing consciousness.

He crossed his arms over his chest and let out a sigh. "Once we've dealt with the current problems I will go see her." He said. "Though I have no distinct feeling about it and really don't care."

I sighed and leaned back into the cushions. "That's ok. It might be different when you finally meet her." I said softly letting my eyes close. "Mmm… I'm tired." I yawned and draped myself across his lap positioning myself so that I was on my back.

"Wouldn't you rather sleep in your room?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I want to stay with you." I said. "But I'll go if you want me to."

His arms slid around me and he pulled me up so that I was resting against his chest. "I'd rather you stay too." He said and placed a soft kiss on my lips. "I doubt you could make it there anyways."

My eyes closed and I fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. No more anxiety and worry for tonight.

* * *

Morning came with showering sunlight and someone poking me gently in the arm. It didn't feel like it was time to wake up I thought and slapped irritably at the persistent hand. Who on earth was doing that? The sound of giggles broke the peaceful quietness that surrounded me and my eyes shot open to find Yuffie's gleeful smile inches away from my face. 

I sat up in astonishment and looked frantically about me realizing that I was still in fact sitting in Sephiroth's lap. I blushed a deep scarlet and slowly brought my head around to look at Yuffie.

She grinned. "Somebody's in loooove." She giggled and jabbed me in the ribs.

"Shut up!" I whispered embarrassedly. "He's still asleep."

Yuffie's grin only widened. "It's 11:00 in the morning sleepy head. You both should be up by now." She scolded playfully. "The others are heading up here right now."

My eyes bulged out of my head in response to her words. "What!" I cried in panic. My hand flew to my mouth and a stole a glance at Sephiroth to see if I had awakened him. He stifled a grown and lifted his head lazily.

"Look who woke him up!" Yuffie cried her finger pointed accusingly at me. "It's about time though."

Sephiroth's eyes opened and narrowed on Yuffie. "You." He growled.

Her tongue was stuck firmly out of her mouth at him. "No, actually I'm am the great ninja Yuffie." She answered haughtily and averted her attention to me. "I expect you to make that clear to him."

"Me?" I exclaimed. "What makes you think he'll listen to me?"

Sephiroth glowered at me. "What the hell is that supposed to mean!"

Yuffie burst out laughing. "I'll just giggle go now. You guys better hurry up." She managed to say and scurried out of the room her laughter echoing off the walls of the library as she went.

I frowned at Sephiroth. "You better start calling her Yuffie."

"I thought you said I wouldn't listen to you." He answered.

"It's worth a try and I think that if I badger you enough you'll listen." I smiled. "Won't you." I added my eyes narrowing.

"Perhaps." He replied. He lifted me into his arms as he stood up and then promptly dropped me on the couch.

"You- you insufferable man!" I yelled as he picked up his sword and turned to go. "You're going to pay for that."

"I don't doubt it." He answered amusedly. "But, let's just keep us secret for a while longer, although that does require the brat's silence and-"

"Yuffie." I corrected him.

He cleared his throat. "Yuffie, excuse me." He grinned. "Back to what I was saying. The others may not accept it quite so easily as you very well know so let's not make it so plain."

"Ok." I answered. "But they already have an idea."

"Then let them play with that idea for a little while longer." He responded.

I nodded and bounded off the couch to stand next to him. I snuck a light punch into his side. "You didn't have to drop me on the couch though." I said and started to walk away.

He pulled me back roughly and placed a kiss on my cheek. "No I didn't, but it is so much fun seeing you flustered." He said in a low titillating voice and strode swiftly to the door. It opened just as he reached it and Cid stood on the other side.

"What the…?" Cid looked at Sephiroth in bewilderment and his gaze slowly went passed him to fall on me.

I blushed and averted my gaze to the floor where my foot was currently drawing circles. The urge to smile was strong, but I held it at bay for the moment.

"So this is where you've been!" Cid exclaimed and stepped by Sephiroth sparing him a simple nod. "What the hell was Yuffie laughing about? She sounded like a (#& hyena when I passed her in the hall."

I bit my lip trying not to laugh. "Oh that wasn't…err, anything." I forced a strait face as I attempted to look into his eyes.

Sephiroth frowned disapprovingly at me and he disappeared out the door.

Cid scowled. "Uh huh, and I'm Rufus of Shin-Ra."

I looked at him closely and closed one eye. "I don't know Cid, there may be a resemblance there." I said leaning forward in pretend to get a closer look.

"Don't you even dare." He warned.

"I was just kidding." I smiled.

"You damn well better be." Cid replied.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked.

"Reeve left for Junon at around 7 this morning. He's gotta clean up the mess there and put everything back together." Cid replied. "Some of us will go and scout around for any information on Chaos's whereabouts and the rest stays here to read books."

"When did you decide all this?" I asked.

"We had a meeting this morning." He answered.

"Without me!" I exclaimed.

"Well if someone hadn't been sleeping!" Cid cried.

"You mean to tell me you didn't even bother looking for me till after the meeting!" I yelped in astonishment. "What if I was in danger and was captured by someone?"

Cid smirked. "Well, you know we figured since Sephiroth was gone too that you two were…"

My jaw dropped. "Cid!" I exclaimed in shock.

"What?" He asked innocently. Realization hit and his eyes widened. "Whoa there, I didn't mean it that way! We just figured that Sephiroth was looking after you wherever you were."

"I should hope you didn't mean it that way!" I retorted, but the blush gave away my true feelings about it. I wasn't offended at all, just a little embarrassed. Embarrassed by the fact that I wasn't offended by it.

"Heh, thought so." Cid grinned.

"What?" I asked in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Cid merely smiled and started out the door with me hurrying after him.

"Cid Highwind don't you dare ignore me!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Everyone in the building probably heard me.

Cid stopped for a moment and brought a hand up to his ear. "Did you say somethin?"

My eyes flared furiously. "All men are the same!" I growled and pushed passed him giving him an angry shove in the process.

Cid's laughter rang out from behind me as I stormed away. It seemed like everyone knew what was going on between Sephiroth and myself now. Why bother hiding it? I shook my head. No, I said I would.

The others were collected in the mini restaurant conversing in the corner when I arrived. All eyes turned to me and the room went completely silent. I stopped and looked around nervously. "Uh, hi everyone!" I smiled brightly my eyes shifting back and forth between each of them with uncertainty.

"We've been wondering where you were all morning." Nanaki replied first. "I expected you to be much earlier, but it's no matter. It's good to see you're still alive." He chuckled.

I frowned. "I was in the library." I replied.

"Yuffie told us." Barret said, his daughter Marlene sitting happily on his shoulders.

My eyes scanned the room for the ninja, but she was nowhere to be found. She better not have said anything else I thought to myself.

Cid came up behind me and went to sit beside Shera and his daughter. "So, who's goin where?"

"It really depends on what everyone else wants to do. Who wants to stay here?" Nanaki asked.

"I volunteer!" I exclaimed taking a step forward.

Yuffie dashed into the room and ran up beside me. "Me too!"

Nanaki's eyes narrowed. "How long ago was it that you read a book Yuffie?"

Her brow formed a thin line of annoyance. "I dunno, two months ago. I can read you know!" She growled. "I don't intend to get anywhere near that air ship unless I absolutely have to. You know I get motion sickness."

"Not the last time." I noted.

"I have motion sickness pills." Yuffie replied. "Ones that actually work and I'd like to use them sparingly, so I'm staying here."

"Very well." Nanaki replied. "I was only pulling your chain besides."

"I'll be staying too, to keep track of the girls." Shera said.

Nanaki nodded and turned his head to Cid. "Will you be in charge of the investigating of Chaos's whereabouts?"

"Sure." Cid muttered. "Who else is comin with me?"

Barret took a swig of coffee. "I'll go." He mumbled.

"But you just got back!" Marlene whined.

"I know." He sighed. "But someone's gotta do it."

Marlene stuck her lower lip out and crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. "Fine then, be that way."

"Aww, Marlene. Come on now, don't make it harder den it already is." Barret pleaded. "Tifa'll be here, you can bug her all ya want."

"Thanks Barret." I smiled.

He grinned. "Knew you'd like that."

Marlene jumped off his shoulders and threw her self into my arms her mood taking a 180-degree turn. "Yay! I'll get to bug Tifa!"

I gave her a warm hug. "Sure thing."

"I'll go too." Came Sephiroth's voice as he arrived from outside.

Everyone's attention turned to him. Barret made a face revealing his immediate disapproval of having to go anywhere with Sephiroth and Cid simply shrugged.

"Alright." Nanaki said. "Then it's settled. Cid, Barret and Sephiroth will do the investigating while the rest of us stay here and research. I'd suggest that you three get going soon. It's already early afternoon. Oh, and Reeve will be having several of his own investigations being done so you only have to deal with the surrounding area. Everywhere else is taken care of."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Cid sighed and stood up.

"Bye daddy." Melony said quietly her hand tugging gently on his trousers.

Cid lifted her into his arms and smiled. "See ya squirt. Don't give your mom a hard time now. You might as well help Marlene bug Tifa." He said and winked in my direction.

Melony giggled as he set her back down and she ran over to stand beside me.

Shera kissed her husband lightly on the cheek and Cid blushed with embarrassment. "Be careful." She said.

"Uh…yeah…err, let's go." He grumbled and turned to his to party members. "You two better hurry up."

"I'm right behind ya." Barret said and walked after him.

Sephiroth followed the two out without a word.

"Send word if you find anything out!" Nanaki called as they disappeared.

Yuffie placed her hands on her hips. "Well, I'm heading to the library. See ya!" She cried and head upstairs.

"Come on girls. We might as well go up there too." Shera said. Melony and Marlene ran to her side. "Are you coming Tifa?" She asked her gaze set on me curiously.

"Just a minute." I smiled. "I need to get something to eat."

"Alright." Shera replied and left, the two girls following close behind her. Nanaki had disappeared it seemed leaving me the opportunity to sneak outside quickly without anyone noticing.

Sephiroth was lagging behind the other two when I caught sight of him and I hurried to catch up. I called his name hesitantly and he instantly turned around. My arms were clasped behind my back as I waited for him to speak.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I really don't have to tell you but, be careful." I said. "Try not to get in a fight with Barret either and make sure nothing happens to either of them."

"Everything will be fine." He answered. "There's no need to worry."

"I know, but I can't really help it." I replied. "Goodbye!"

"Bye Tifa. We'll be back tonight I'm sure." He said.

Just as he turned to leave I stopped him and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

He trembled, his skin blushing a rosy pink. Without another word he hurried off to catch up with the other two. I stood there watching him longingly as he disappeared down the steps. He'd only just left and I already missed him.

Someone pounced on my shoulders from behind and I let out a short cry of surprise. Yuffie landed in front of me a wide grin plastered onto her face. "You better fill me in on all the details."

"Oh please." I groaned and headed back inside with Yuffie hanging onto my arm. "There's nothing to tell."

"Sure there isn't." Yuffie drawled. "I know what's goin on." She said. "Come on, the others are already in the library. I have a small corner reserved for just the two of us so that we can talk."

"Why am I not surprised?" I laughed and followed her up the stairs to the library.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I really liked this chapter for some reason. I hope everyone else does too. I wanted to get it out sooner, but it took me a while to come up with something that really pleased me. Thank you, thank you, and thank you to all who have been reading.  



	10. Chapter 10:Books, Books and more Jenova?

**Chapter 10: **_Books, Books and more...Jenova?_**  
**

**Disclaimer: **Ahem…I don't own ff7, incase you were wondering.

First of all, thank you Dark Syren for your extremely encouraging review! I appreciate it very much!

Wow, that last chapter sure did make people happy! I'm sorry I couldn't get this one out sooner. I got a little bit of writer's block and couldn't seem to write up an ending, but here it is now. Read and enjoy!

* * *

It turned out that Elmyra had left with Reeve early in the morning because of certain duties that couldn't be kept waiting, mainly her flower shop, and Nanaki had gone to his Grandfather's grave in hope of getting some guidance. So that left just the three of us, Shera, Yuffie and myself to do the work for now. Nanaki would be back, but it was hard to say when. 

The two girls were running around squealing and causing all sorts of racket making reading all the more difficult. You couldn't blame them though. They were only children so we put up with it the best we could. Or at least I put up with it. Yuffie was building up a stash of pencil erasers to throw at them if they got too close. She was convinced she would need hearing aids after today's fiasco, but Yuffie has a way of overreacting about things.

After 2 hours of non-stop reading Yuffie and I crept out of our concealed area to get a bite to eat sparing a hello to Shera as we left. Yuffie went to buy the food while I retrieved my boots, which were still sitting by my bed.

As I exited the room I came to a sudden halt my eyes widening on the top of Yuffie's head. The giant mound of food and drink in her arms hid her face from view. "Uh…Yuffie? Isn't that a little overboard as far as food goes?" I asked.

"Mmf!" She groaned and promptly dumped part of the items into my hands. "Whew! Well you know, I figure we'll be in the library for a long time and Shera might want something to eat too." She explained. "Might as well get food for the entire night."

"I guess you're right." I said eyeing a turkey sandwich with particular interest. "Let's go then."

Upon entering the library I noticed Nanaki sitting at the table by Shera. "Hello Nanaki!" I said in surprise as we came inside. "We've got some food if you guys are hungry."

Yuffie scrambled over to the table to lighten her load a little more and ended up dumping almost all of it, with some ending up on the floor too.

"This is certainly a pleasant surprise!" Shera beamed while picking up a bottle of water that had missed the table. "Thank you."

"No problem!" Yuffie answered and collected a few things she hadn't meant to leave. Her eyes lifted to Nanaki for an instant. "Find out anything?"

Nanaki shook his head sadly. "I'm no cetra making communicating with the deceased quite hard. If we are to find anything out it will be here. What about you two?"

"No." I responded. "Not even close."

"Well, there are many books here. They won't all have what we're looking for, but I'm almost certain that some of them do." He answered. "Please keep looking and if you do find anything notify me immediately."

"Will do." Yuffie said and disappeared behind a row of bookcases.

"Well, good luck then." I smiled and hurried after Yuffie.

She was already delving into the food when I rounded the corner. I seated myself beside her and took the turkey sandwich I discovered earlier.

My eyes trailed to the open book in front of me as I ate. It was the same book I'd pulled out last night and it was the only one I'd been reading all day. For some reason I was completely attached to it. It covered everything on Jenova from her first arrival to when the Cetra sealed her away along with a few other facts. Unfortunately, none of it would help us any.

Hours passed and still nothing had come up. Yuffie had her head leaning against her hand in a very lazy fashion while she dazedly looked down at her book. Finally she stopped and shoved it off the table in annoyance. "I don't care how the ancient Yavoblahblablah, whatever their name is, ate their damn food 4000 years ago! Just because they used some kind of ancient fork these authors have the audacity to call it a friggin artifact! It's a twig!"

I burst into giggles. "I think you're looking in the wrong place."

"What? You don't want to learn about the sporken? They've got thirty pages of garbage on it!" Yuffie answered hysterically.

I smiled. "No thank you." I answered politely.

"Neither do I." She said and picked out another book from the large stack on the table. "Uggghhh!" She moaned as she leafed through the pages with barely a glance. "We're never gonna find anything!"

"Don't say that!" I scolded. "Sooner or later something is bound to come up."

"Before or after I turn 50?" Yuffie mumbled irritably.

I scowled. "I'm hoping before." Hoping…

Several more hours passed taking us well into the night and our pile of food had diminished into a near nothing. We had resorted to using torches and candles for lighting now that darkness had fallen.

Pages and pages flashed by my eyes the words dismissing themselves from my mind the moment I moved onto the next. Somehow I managed to gather up some sort of idea of what was happening though and I didn't like it. A theory was developing in my mind that I was deliberately trying to avoid in fear of discovering something very bad. So I pushed it away for the time being and tried to focus on the words.

My eyes ached from the constant strain they were under and insisted on a rest that I was not so hesitant to give. I myself was tired in general of reading and wanted nothing more but a breath of fresh air. I closed the book and let my eyes roam elsewhere and eventually land on a window.

A pointy elbow nudged me in the bicep catching me by surprise. I immediately spied Yuffie sitting beside me feigning innocents, but unable to hide the mischief that glistened in her eyes.

I nudged her back silently a smile tugging at my lips as I waited for another attack.

She elbowed me again as I expected and I retaliated.

Again she jabbed me, this time slightly harder.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. "What is it?" I drawled.

She looked around cautiously, checking for anyone who might be spying and drew her head near mine. "Guess what?" She whispered.

"What?" I asked uncertainly, my eyes narrowing suspiciously. A very unnerving feeling settled itself in my stomach as I studied her all too bright smile. She was up to something and in no way could it be good by the look on her face.

"Somebody's in looove!" She sang in a hushed voice and burst into soft giggles.

"W-what?" I stammered and bolted up right in my chair. My face flushed with embarrassment and I looked away to avoid being caught by her prying eyes. That little snake! "Don't be ridiculous!"

Yuffie's head poked into my line of vision. "Oh, oh, oh! Look at you! I've never seen you blush so red before!" She cried. "Come on! You can tell me! You know you want to."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I stressed, faking annoyance.

Her forehead wrinkled in agitation. As quickly as it came it disappeared though to be replaced by a sneaky smile that had mischief written all over it. "I'm gonna tell everyone what I saw this morning!"

"No! You can't!" I exclaimed loudly nearly reaching hysteric heights. She wouldn't dare! Actually, that was just something Yuffie would do. Why I was surprised in the least bit I have no idea.

She cocked an eyebrow curiously. "So you'll answer my questions then?"

I stole a quick glance at the two halls that met at our corner making sure that no one else was in the premises. "Ok then." I answered softly. "IF they're reasonable." I added quickly. One had to be careful when dealing with Yuffie. She wasn't afraid to ask anything.

"Oh yeah!" She exclaimed excitedly and rested her head in her hands. "Soooo, have you kissed yet?"

"…Maybe." I said quietly while toying with a pencil.

"No maybes!" Yuffie said sternly, giving me a poke in the ribs.

I brought up two fingers and wiggled them in front her face without saying a word.

Her eyes widened. "Twice!"

I nodded and grinned.

"Wow!" She breathed. "Was it good?"

My eyes widened in astonishment. "I'm not going to give you a play by play on it!"

Yuffie frowned. "Why not?"

"B-because!" I protested lamely. "That's for Sephiroth and I to know only."

Yuffie's face brightened. "So it WAS good then!"

I rolled my eyes and decided to give up on it. "Whatever you say Yuffie." His kiss was far better than good actually. The thought dawned on me that by saying it was just 'good' was a large insult. "No, it wasn't good." I started.

"It wasn't?" Yuffie blurted out in confusion.

"It was much, much better than good." I finished and fell into a dreamy state as I remembered the occurrences of the night before. The entire scene played itself over again before my eyes. Everything had been so perfect and then he had to go and leave in the morning! I hoped I would get to see him before the night was over.

It was a while before I realized my name was being called or rather shouted and a hand was waving frantically in front of my face. I snapped out of my daze and looked at Yuffie blankly. "Did you say something?"

She let out a long groan. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

I paused thinking really hard as I tried to recall any words that I might have heard during my minds little escapade into yesterday. "No." I answered. "I didn't hear anything at all."

Her shoulders slumped forward in irritation. "Ok, what were you thinking about then?" Yuffie asked.

"Last night." I said softly as I tried to grasp the wonderful feeling I'd experienced in his embrace.

Yuffie's eyes widened. "You mean you two actually did-"

"No!" I blurted out and eyed her skeptically. "And that, by the way, does not fall under the reasonable question category!"

Yuffie eyed me innocently. "I was just-"

"No, no, no. I don't want to hear what you just. Nothing serious happened last night and leave it at that." I paused. "…Well not really serious." Confessing that you loved someone is actually kind of serious now that I think about it.

"What do you mean 'well not really serious'?" Yuffie prodded. "What kind of an answer is that?"

I blushed. "Uh…well…he…I…we…Ugh, forget it." I groaned placing my head in my hands.

"Come on!" Yuffie pleaded her excitement bouncing her up and down in the chair. "Tell me!"

I shifted my gaze to her. "He said he loved me." I stated simply. It felt like a hundred butterflies were fluttering about in my stomach and all I wanted to do was shout out with glee. He loved me! Sephiroth, the greatest General ever not to mention the most handsome looking man I've ever seen loved plain old me. For some reason I was still trying to cope with the sheer improbability of the fact.

Yuffie's jaw dropped and her hands flew to her mouth as a small cry slipped out from the back of her throat. She stared at me overcome with surprise, disbelief and a hint of joy. "Are you serious? Sephiroth said that- that he loved you?"

I nodded.

"That's…that's amazing!" She gasped. "Do you love him?"

"Yes." I answered softly. "But…"

"Tifa!" She beamed. "That's awesome! I mean I knew something was going on, but who knew that he'd actually come to admit it! I didn't even think it was possible!" She stopped momentarily and frowned. "Wait, that didn't come out right. I mean, I didn't think it was possible for Sephiroth to admit it! That sounds better. What do you mean 'but' anyways?"

"He's immortal." I mumbled. "I'm not."

"Oh." Yuffie verbalized her eyes blinking at me as if I'd said something that made no sense whatsoever. "So?"

"So? So that means we can never be together!" I cried feeling tears form in my eyes. Why was I suddenly so unhappy? He said we would find a way, but right now I was not so certain anymore.

Yuffie tilted her head thoughtfully. "Tifa, it doesn't really matter that he's immortal. If he loves you than he'll stay with you till you breath your last breath. He won't leave you just because you're growing old and he's not. You can still be together!"

I held my breath as I gaped at her, the sincerity and truth to her words stunning me. She was right. "Yuffie…" I mouthed quietly. "When did you become so grown up?"

She giggled and flushed scarlet. "It HAS been four years!" She answered. "But that's just common sense!"

"Thank you." I said softly. "But still, I-I don't want to leave him behind. He'll live on all alone."

Yuffie frowned. "That's true. We'll find a way!" She declared, her eyes shining brilliantly in the candlelight. "So, I guess we better get back to work huh? Before Nanaki catches us goofing off."

"Probably." I answered. "Although I'd rather not read another word."

"Ditto to that." Yuffie mumbled. "How about we just brainstorm for a while and try to come up with something there?"

"Sounds good to me. Anything as long as it doesn't involve reading." I groaned. My thoughts bounced about and eventually wound up on Jenova of all things. You'd think the Cetra would have killed her rather than seal her in a rock. It seems somewhat odd to me. Very odd… Wouldn't you rather kill something that had so much power?

An instant passed and I had the nagging feeling that something very important was hovering right under my nose. Nanaki thought that Vincent might be still alive and so did I. Vincent's last words still echoed freshly in my mind. _Goodbye for now…_ The question in my mind was, how could he survive? He'd been shot through the heart and then buried under tons of rubble!

As I sat there trying to make loose ends meet I began to realize that the theory forming in the back of my mind was starting to make sense. The Cetra had to seal Jenova in a rock making it seem like that was their only option. Sephiroth was immortal, Vincent was immortal, Lucrecia was in a sense immortal. Nanaki, who knows, but his life was plenty long already. They all carried the Jenova cells. Cloud? He'd gone with Aeris to the promise land excusing him from the picture. It all matched up far too well.

I sprang up from my chair overcome with a sudden urgency. "Yuffie, I think I found something!" I breathed. It isn't a good something, but it IS something.

"Really?" She asked in surprise. "Cool."

"Come on!" I exclaimed.

I was already sprinting down the hall when Yuffie's disgruntled voice shouted out from behind me. "Wait!"

I managed the corner well even in the dim light and stopped just short of where Nanaki and Shera sat. Yuffie came to a rough halt beside me and almost catapulted over the table in her attempt to stop.

Both Nanaki and Shera were staring at us a bit startled.

"I take it you found something?" Shera asked.

"Maybe." I answered quickly. "I'm not entirely sure. It's only a theory."

Nanaki shut his book immediately. "Please share it with us. Anything would do right now."

I chewed my lip rather vigorously as my mind raced through all of the things that I was trying to piece together. "Nanaki, your Grandfather explained to us once the way the lifestream worked and how life flourishes on this planet. He said that the souls of all living things return to the lifestream after death to be reborn again. Is that right?"

"Yes." Nanaki nodded slowly. "Why?"

"Jenova came from outer space, not from this planet." I explained. "Is it possible that the lifestream would reject her and her cells because she's foreign?"

"Well…" Nanaki started and came to a sudden stop his eyes narrowing in contemplation.

Shera let out a tiny gasp and dug her nails into the tabl..

"No way." Yuffie stated shaking her head. "No, no and no. That is not possible! Jenova is dead and she's staying dead! It's been 5 years! If she were still alive she would have come back ages ago!"

"Not necessarily." I answered. "Sephiroth rejuvenated for 4 years in the crater before he was strong enough to come out."

"Oh man!" Yuffie moaned. "This is really bad!"

"This is indeed, very, very bad." Nanaki spoke. "How could we've not realized this before?"

"A-a-are you sure about this?" Shera stuttered nervously. "I mean, we could be wrong, right? It all seems rather impossible to me."

Nanaki's tail twitched back and forth uneasily. "On first thought, yes it would seem very impossible, but we all saw Sephiroth fall. He should have never come back and yet he is here now with us. And then there is Vincent who may or may not be still alive though we believe him to be alive. He hinted to Tifa as she left that he was not going to die. Also, the Cetra sealed Jenova into a rock. There is no reason to do this unless it is their only choice."

"I agree." I said. "And this would explain why Vincent might still be alive."

"So, what now?" Yuffie asked.

"I think we should go to Lucercia's cave." I announced. "Vincent told Sephiroth to go there. It might have some special significance."

"That's an idea." Nanaki replied. "Right now we've got several things to focus on, one the black materia, two Jenova and three Chaos. It's possible that Jenova may try to take the other half of the black materia. If she does disaster is surely to come. We must find the other piece! As for Chaos it's hard to say. He's very spontaneous making it hard to figure out what he's doing, but I worry little about the demon at the moment." Nanaki stopped to catch his breath. "Tomorrow morning I'll contact Reeve and have a search party sent to the crater to look for any suspicious activity. We'll decide the rest in the morning once the others have returned."

"Does that mean we're through for tonight?" Yuffie piped hopefully.

"Yes, it is getting late." Nanaki sighed. "I'm quite tired myself, I have no doubt you three are too."

"What time is it?" I asked curiously.

Shera broke out of her trauma and glanced down at her watch. "10 p.m." She responded and stood up shakily. "I better go find those girls. Anybody know where they went off to?"

"We're coming!" Came Marlene's shrill voice. The thundering of small footsteps followed and the two girls appeared from behind one of the bookcases. "We're hungry!" They both cried as they came to a stop before Shera.

"Alright, let's go get something to eat." Shera said with a smile and departed with the girls.

"I'm going strait to bed!" Yuffie announced and started out the door. She turned at the last minute. "Goodnight!"

"Night Yuffie!" I waved.

"Goodnight." Nanaki said giving her a short nod. He shook his mane tiredly and looked up at me. "Will you be going to bed soon?"

"Not till the others get back." I answered.

He smiled lightly. "I thought so. I'll be up as well. If you wish to sleep I can wake you when they arrive."

"That's alright Nanaki." I assured him. "I don't mind staying up for a while. I'd rather be completely awake than only partially when they get back anyways."

"That's understandable." Nanaki chuckled. "Don't overwork yourself though. I hope you don't have trouble sleeping tonight, I heard that last night was not quite so comfortable."

I looked down at him a bit startled. "How did you know about that?"

"Yuffie told me. She knew you woke up in the middle of the night and left." He replied. "You were in good company it seemed though."

"Nanaki!" I gasped feeling a blush coming on.

He grinned. "You needn't try and hide it. It's so obvious what's going on between you two that it's practically blinding."

"Hmf." I grunted and looked away.

Nanaki broke into laughter. "Forgive me for being so strait forward. I'll be outside at the bonfire."

I nodded silently and watched as he disappeared. Everyone knew! They'd know before we admitted it to each other! I smiled and twirled around as I headed for the door to the stairs. I couldn't help but feel happy about it too.

I stopped to absorb the fresh air and admire the breathtaking light show above me. Stars glimmering everywhere and a giant circle of beauty shedding her silver light upon the land. Another lovely night comforted by the warmth of the air. It's a lot more satisfying when you can watch the stars without freezing in the process. That was one of the many pluses of Cosmo Canyon.

Sparing one last glance at the sky I spun on my heel and skipped down the stairs. I swiftly made my way down to the grounds where I spotted Nanaki lying by the bonfire, his form silhouetted by the flames. I approached quietly and sat down beside him.

"Hello Tifa." Nanaki murmured his eyes leaving the fire for a moment to spare me a quick glance.

"Hi Nanaki!" I replied brightly, flashing him a brilliant smile. The fire emitted pleasant warmth that drew me into a semi state of meditation while I gazed deep into the flames. I let myself roll onto my back to look up at the stars, a smile tugging at me lips. What could be more perfect than this? A comforting fire, a clear star speckled sky and a friend by your side. Moments like these were ones I cherished, I only wished they occurred more often.

I let out a long sigh and closed my eyes peacefully. They should be here soon. He would be here soon. I strung my hands through my hair out of boredom and yawned. There were so many things to think about and yet Sephiroth was the only one on my mind. It wouldn't be much longer though.

As time passed nothing really changed except the moon appeared to have made some progress in its slow journey across the sky. Every once and I while I'd catch a glimpse of Nanaki and find him staring into the fire like before. He no doubt had a lot on his mind tonight.

What on earth was taking them so long? I hated to think too hard on it. A number of things could have happened to them most of which were bad. I wasn't going to think about that, I had enough bad things to think about already.

I sat up curiously at the sound of a distant rumbling that sounded vaguely familiar. A smile crept across my face as I realized it was actually the Highwind approaching in the distance.

Nanaki raised his head immediately, his excellent hearing having no trouble picking up the sound. "It seems they've finally made it."

"Almost." I answered and found myself sprawling out on the ground again. "I'm too lazy to get up though." I giggled and looked into the flames.

"I fear that the fire has made lazy bums out of the both of us." Nanaki chuckled. "They won't be here for another ten minutes anyways, we can loaf around for a little while longer."

"Mmm, sounds good to me." I grinned. "You don't think they'll mind if we don't meet them at the entrance do you?"

"Why should they?" Nanaki asked. "They probably aren't even expecting us to be awake."

"I think we're justified then." I said.

"As much as we can be." Nanaki replied amusedly.

The buzzing sound of the Highwind gradually got louder as it approached and soon enough it stopped. Nanaki and I were still stationary by the fire giving no hint of moving in the future either.

"I think I heard a voice." Nanaki said suddenly and yawned. "Must be Cid. He's the only one with a voice loud enough to carry that well."

I burst out laughing. "I'm shocked Nanaki!"

He sat up and scratched at his side in irritation. "You've heard the man. He'll be hoarse by the time he's 45 if he continues on like that."

"Them are fightin words!" I grinned and closed my eyes tiredly. "I'm so exhausted.".

"Then sleep by all means." Nanaki replied. "You needn't be awake to hear what you already know besides."

I nodded slightly and felt myself drifting off into a light doze. The sounds of voices penetrated my ears, but it wasn't enough to draw me completely out of unconsciousness. My mind focused on the voice that I knew to be Sephiroth's for a moment before drifting away again.

Cid, Barret and Sephiroth all sat down around the fire and began conversing quietly with Nanaki over today's happenings.

I was left to my slumber and glad of it. Every once and a while I'd pick out something Nanaki was saying and recognize it, but most of the time my mind was elsewhere. They moved onto some other subject as time passed to relieve them selves of the days wears and I continued to sleep.

"How long's she been sleepin?" Barret asked, his voice bringing me back to reality all of a sudden.

"She fell asleep shortly after we heard you coming." Nanaki replied. "She was pretty tired after today, but insisted on staying up to make sure everyone got back ok."

Cid chuckled softly. "That's Tifa for ya. She really doesn't give herself enough credit, you know?"

"Yeah." Barret said in agreement. "She's da backbone of dis here operation if you ask me. Always keepin us together. We wouldn't a stuck together wit out her."

My ears strained to listen harder, their conversation perking my curiosity. I'm not usually an eve's dropper, but come on! They had to have known they were taking a big risk when starting a conversation about me right over my head!

I was glad that I listened though because their words comforted me and reminded me of what good friends I had. It let me know that I was needed by them and important to them.

"Shoulda never wasted her time on him though." Cid grumbled jolting me out of my thoughts.

"She couldn't help it." Nanaki said quietly. "Cloud was the only family she had left from Nibelheim. I think perhaps that's why she found herself so attached. Anything that linked to her past she held on to because there was so little left."

Barret let out a long sigh. "It's about time somebody took care of her n'stead of da other way around. Anyways, I'm headin off to bed. Where's Marlene?"

"She's with Shera and Melony. You and Cid may have to share a room for tonight." Nanaki replied.

"Whatever." Cid grunted. "Works for me as long as there are two beds."

Cid and Barret's fleeting footsteps faded into nothing as they went inside leaving just Nanaki, Sephiroth and myself.

"I'm quiet tired myself." Nanaki announced roughly and walked up beside me. "Goodnight Tifa."

My eyes shot open in surprise and I bit my lip nervously. "Err, night Nanaki." I mumbled. It seemed that Nanaki had known all along that I was awake.

His eyes twinkled with amusement as he trotted passed and disappeared up the stairs that led inside.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, feeling a bit less tired for the moment. My gaze lifted to Sephiroth who sat across the fire from me his eyes a motionless stare. "Hello." I said quietly.

"Hello." He replied in a hushed manner.

I tiled my head confusedly. "What's wrong?" I asked sensing tension in the air.

"Nothing." He answered quickly and placed his eyes firmly on the fire.

I scowled and got to my feet. "You're lying." I stated in annoyance and walked over to sit beside him. He still continued to avoid my gaze, but my pestering didn't cease. "Your not mad at me are you?" I asked worriedly and poked my head in front of him so that he was forced to look at me.

He shook his head. "No." He answered. "I was just thinking."

"And avoiding me." I added. "Is that how you treat somebody who's been missing you all day?"

He let out a heavy sigh. "No, I'm sorry."

I frowned and turned away from him. "What were you thinking about?"

"Nibelheim." He answered softly. "I still can't believe I was so weak. Quite frankly I don't deserve to live and I know it, but I'm cursed. Cursed to live forever alone with my sins. I'd prefer death."

A single tear rolled down my cheek and I hesitantly put my arms around him. "You don't have to." I whispered. "I'll gladly live beside you for eternity."

Sephiroth's head shot up in response his eyes staring into mine. "Tifa, are you sure about this?" He asked.

I nodded. "You can't stop me if it is what I want and I don't understand why you'd want to. If you really do love me then you will let me try." I answered softly.

"Eternity is a long time." Sephiroth warned me his hands taking me firmly by the shoulders. "How you plan to do this I have no idea, but perhaps you should give it a little more thought. It's a burden my lady, not a gift. You would have to watch all of your friends grow old and die before your eyes while you stay young. Is it worth having to live on and endure all the hardships of life with no rest?"

"You will always be there and that is all I need." I replied sincerely. "I can't possibly leave you to suffer alone. I won't let you do that. Nothing you say will change my mind and as far as I'm concerned I think it is worth it."

Sephiroth pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. "You're such a fool, but that's why I love you so much." He gasped. "I envy your compassion. There are very few people in this world with your kindness. You deserve better."

I lifted my hand to brush aside a lock of his silver hair. "No Sephiroth, you're the only man that I want, no one else." I said and placed a gently kiss on his cheek. "You've given me your heart, not many are willing to do that. It's more than I ask of you and yet you still give it. No one can compare to you in my eyes."

He placed a warm hand on the side of my face and captured my mouth with his. A massive surge of emotions spread through out my body as he pushed me onto my back and pinned me to the ground. His entire body pressed down against mine and set my skin on fire with desire. My arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer, the need for more overpowering my will.

One of his hands slid down my side and found it's way beneath my shirt. His touch sent shivers up my spine and drew a muffled moan from my throat. For some reason on this night a kiss did not satisfy me. My heart wanted more, much more and it was losing its patience.

We parted eventually though it was very reluctant, but I was going to lose control of myself if we didn't.

Sephiroth grinned down at me mischievously. "You trembled my lady." He said quietly and ran his fingers across my stomach.

I let out a cry of surprise and started to giggle as he continued to tickle me. "Stop!" I begged and started squirming beneath him, but his weight held me fast.

"I suppose I could." He sighed and pulled his hand out from under my shirt. "We should think about getting some rest ourselves."

I frowned sadly. "Ok." I mumbled and let him pull me to my feet. "But I've waited all day to see you and now you've got to go and leave again!"

He smirked. "Says who?"

I looked up at him confusedly and my eyes widened as I realized what he was implicating. After further consideration of his suggestion I smiled. "You don't mind if I stay with you?"

"Not at all." He replied. "Just as long as we don't sleep on the couch again. My neck hasn't given me a moments peace since I woke up this morning."

"Would you like me to massage it for you?" I asked.

"Tomorrow." He answered. "I'm exhausted." He jumped off the platform of dirt that the bonfire sat on and snatched me into his arms. It wasn't long before I realized he didn't plan on putting me down. He carried me up the stairs and inside before he finally set me down outside of his room.

His hand pushed the door open and bid me enter first. My eyes fell on the bed as fatigue seized me. I yanked off my boots and crawled under the covers while Sephiroth removed his armor and over coat. I had no intention of waiting for him though and closed my eyes immediately.

In a matter of seconds I was fast asleep.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Say hello to plot twists! I just can't seem to stop throwing those out here. 

Thank you everyone a thousand times! I feel like I'm not giving you all your due respect for all the support you've given me, I'm sorry! I appreciate each and every one of you for your wonderful reviews.

If you have questions or just want to talk to me, then send an e-mail - I don't mind at all. Thanks again!


	11. Chapter 11:Not This Time

**Chapter 11: **_Not This Time_**  
**

**Disclaimer: **……ZZZZZzzzzzz… …oh yeah… …I dun own nothin…

To my extremely awesome reviewers: It's so unbelievable you might just be imagining it…I have updated! Say it isn't so! Lol, yikes. I think I'm going blind, blasted computer screen. So, how's everyone? For some reason I feel like asking today. Here is another chapter, by the way - incase you didn't notice (har har har), I hope you noticed because I'd be forced to think there was something seriously wrong with you if not. Anyways, read, review and **ENJOY**! (Note the bold lettering, that's an order, got it?)

* * *

I awoke to an early morning chill that sent shivers up my spine. Then I realized that the blanket I'd once been curled up beneath was gone. I scowled and searched blindly for the familiar folds of cloth with my hand, refusing to open my eyes just yet in hopes that maybe I could reclaim sleep for a while longer. Unfortunately the blanket was nowhere to be found. 

My eyes opened lazily and I sat up, sparing a glance at Sephiroth. So that's where the blanket ended up! He lay beside me hogging every last piece of the wretched thing, with half of it lying on the floor! I took hold of a loose edge and attempted to yank it from his grasp. A groan of frustration escaped my chapped lips, as the blanket didn't budge more than a few inches. He was wrapped in it like a butterfly in a cocoon making it impossible to get it away from him.

This would just have to be settled in some other way I decided as my gaze trailed about in search of something, though I wasn't sure what. Then I set my eyes on the pillow I'd been sleeping on. A mischievous grin etched itself onto my face as I grabbed the corner of the pillow. I bit my lip in hesitation as I looked upon Sephiroth's peaceful face. Should I? He looked so comfortable, but then again he'd stolen my blanket and if we were ever to live together that little aspect would have to be dealt with.

"Screw it." I said out loud and smacked him right across the face.

His eyes shot open in alarm as I pulled the weapon away and grinned down at him. He frowned. "What the hell was that for?" He demanded. "

I crossed my arms in defiance. "Don't even try to blame it on me. You're the one who stole all the blankets. It's cooold!" I whined and tried to acquire a little bit of warmth from hugging myself.

He looked down at the blanket noticing that it indeed was all on his side, and blushed. "Oh."

"Uh huh! See? I had every reason in the world to hit you with a pillow." I stated.

"I suppose you want the blanket back then?" He asked.

My teeth clenched together in agitation. "No, I hit you over the head with a pillow just because…of course I want it back! I'm gonna freeze like this!"

He rolled his eyes and settled back down into the pillows in attempt to go back to sleep. "You whine too much. At least you've got a shirt on unlike me."

"You---Errgh!" I flushed an angry red and hit him in the head with the pillow again. "Take that!" I cried.

In an instant he'd brought his own pillow around and struck me right across the face sending me over backwards and off the bed. The moment my skin touched the ice-cold floor I levitated into the air, temporarily overcome with shock.

Sephiroth burst into laughter as I frantically scrambled onto the bed and wrapped myself into a protective ball. Tiny goose bumps formed on the surface of my legs and arms.

"That wasn't funny!" I shouted angrily.

"I didn't mean to knock you onto the floor." He managed to say.

My eyes were set firmly on the wall and I refused to even look in his vicinity. "Jerk." I muttered while fingering the pillow sitting at my feet. He was not going to go unpunished for that little maneuver.

Sephiroth sat up, his gaze melting holes in my skin. He never looked away and continued to stare without faltering. "Would you stop doing that?" He exclaimed in annoyance.

I slowly turned my head around to look at him. "Why should I?"

He scowled. "Because it's irritating."

"Don't make it so easy." I mumbled in response. Why is it everything seemed to irritate him? Oh wait, because he's Sephiroth. I forgot.

His hands dropped into his lap as his head slumped forward. "Does this mean I have to apologize?" He asked.

My face burned with rage and I swung the pillow around to land a solid blow square on his face sending him back into the wall with a loud thump. "Yes." I answered. "It does."

"Has it ever occurred to you to pull your blasted punches?" He groaned and sat back up. "What ever came over me to fall in love with a woman capable of such strength?"

A giggle escaped my lips. "Would you have preferred a man?"

His eyes widened in horror and then narrowed into a look of hostility. "I'm going to kick your sorry ass for that."

I doubled over with laughter. "I'm sorry!" I forced out between giggles. "I couldn't resist."

"Sorry?" He echoed hysterically. "Sorry! Don't make me laugh! I think I deserve a tad bit more than a simple apology after that comment."

I rolled off the bed and snatched my boots off the floor, slipping them on quickly. "You are rather touchy on the subject though." I noted and grinned. What had come over me? Talk about fighting words. He'd never forgive me now.

In an instant there was a pillow hurling towards my head. I evaded the attack by a hairs length and watched in relief as the pillow crashed into the wall behind me.

"You missed!" I shouted gleefully and spun around to face him. A cry of surprise escaped my lips as my eyes caught sight of a second incoming pillow. I flinched as it slammed into my face and snapped my head back with great force.

"Not that time." Sephiroth answered smugly.

I glared at him as the pillow dropped to the floor. "And you tell me to pull my punches!"

"You deserved it." He replied and flipped over the bed with blinding speed.

Before I had time to even breath he had my hands bound tightly behind me with his lean body pressed against my back in a most alluring way. Damn this arrogant man and his needless teasing! His lips hovered near my ear letting his steady breath tickle my neck and melt me into his arms. "You win." I sighed and relaxed.

"As always."

"Can you let me go now?"

"Not till you apologize."

"I'm soooorry." I drawled and stomped at the floor impatiently. My boots were completely unlaced and wobbled around on my feet. "You better let me go now or I'll be forced to…to…" I really should just keep my mouth shut I think. He was too strong and far too intelligent for me to pull any simple tricks on him. It seemed that he controlled my future from here and that infuriated me beyond belief.

"You'd be forced to what?" He asked amusedly and tightened his grip.

"Nothing." I sighed in agitation.

"That's what I thought." He said and released me. "It's nearing 8 a.m. We should go see if the others are awake."

I nodded and bent down to tie my shoes. Almost immediately afterwards his hand slapped me in the ass taking me by complete surprise and triggering a weakness in the knees that caused me to collapse to the floor.

He swept passed me, a genuine smile on his face and sat down on the bed to put on his boots.

Never once did my gaping eyes leave his back, but no matter how hard I tried to speak I couldn't seem to come up with any words that would some how preserve some of my decency. I fumed angrily and got to my feet, picking up the pillows that were sprawled on the floor. He was expertly ignoring me, even as I roughly threw the pillows onto the bed. I probably should have hit him again, but he'd only get me back.

Instead I just somersaulted over the bed and landed next to him. "What was that for?"

"What?" He asked and finally looked me strait in the eyes.

Everything that surrounded me froze still. Why was it every time I looked into those endless depths of aqua I found myself lost and entranced? Was that the feeling that sprang through my body and rapidly consumed me with happiness? The world around me disappeared and what I was going to say vanished, never to return. "I can't remember." I said softly letting my lips relax into a frown.

The same expression dwelt on his face as we delved further into each other's soul. In a moment of desperation our emotions got the better of us and I found myself beneath him as he kissed me fiercely. My hands slid down his back, stroking his warm skin and begging for more. For a split second it occurred to me that now was not the time to be doing this, but my heart was currently beating my brain over the head with a stick in order to silence it and it was working.

This overwhelming thirst to touch and feel was much too powerful as well as dangerous. My will crumbled and I gave in to temptation, accepting his gentle caress heedlessly. His lips brushed against my cheek as he pulled away, groaning inwardly and straitening up.

I bit my lip and pushed myself to a sitting position, spying him in the corner of my eyes.

"That was close." He exhaled sharply and snatched his trench coat off the bedpost.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly and pulled me knees to my chest.

"It isn't your fault I can't seem to keep my hands off you." He responded while lacing the leather straps of his coat. "It's maddening the way your presence effects me yet invigorating at the same time."

My cheeks burned furiously with embarrassment and developed a rosy tint as I ruffled the edge of my shorts shyly. I lifted my gaze tentatively and observed Sephiroth while he pulled on his shoulder armor.

I tiled my head curiously. "Do you ever wear anything else?"

He glanced over at me. "No."

"Oh." I answered blankly and smiled to myself. "Why not?'

His hand seized the hilt of his sword and brought it swiftly around to rest in a simple leather strap at his waist. He peered at me through disdainful eyes. "I like what I'm wearing." He said. "You don't approve?"

I shook my head vigorously. "No! I was just wondering. I think you look extremely dashing and…handsome." I blushed and grinned widely feeling somewhat stupid. I was only speaking the truth though!

"Exactly." He answered and spun around letting his remarkably untangled hair whirl about him in a swirl of silver. The door swung open with the flick of his hand and he twisted around to look at me again. "Coming?"

I nodded and bounded pass, giving him an elated smile on my way. The happiness that had ensnared me was more wonderful than I ever imagined it would be. Perhaps it was because it'd been so long since I'd been truly happy I sort of forgot what it felt like. This was far better that I remembered though. Loved by the most wonderful man in the world, at least that's what I believed. No more long nights mourning over the love I never had, but somehow felt I lost. There was a time when I was sure that I had loved Cloud, but now that I think about it, I don't really know. Maybe I was just holding onto what I had left, like Nanaki had said.

Speaking of Nanaki, he was coming inside from upstairs just as we exited Sephiroth's room. "Oh good, you two are awake." He said, his shoulders visibly relaxing letting his ruffled fur fall back into place.

My eyes narrowed on the hint of amusement in his eyes. Now that I think about it my hair was probably an absolute mess. I didn't even want to know what he was speculating right now because I had a suspicion that it was crude and indecent. And I used to think that Nanaki was so well mannered. No matter how long you know your friends, they're always surprising you.

"Yes." Sephiroth replied, eyeing Nanaki with a particular enmity that was only encouraging Nanaki's thoughts.

I clasped my hands behind my back and took a step forward before. "Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"Sleeping." Nanaki sighed. "I don't suppose you two would be willing to drag them out of bed, would you?"

"Oh I'd love to." Sephiroth answered dryly. "Leave it to me."

Nanaki nodded. "Good, it's about time someone whipped them into shape. I'll be up in the Library when everyone is up and ready to start thinking logically. Don't be too long."

"Ok, we'll handle it." I said and waved as Nanaki disappeared outside. I whirled around abruptly to find Sephiroth grinning down at me mischievously. "You'd 'love to'?" I questioned distrustfully.

"General instincts kicking in." He explained. "I've got work to do."

"Just remember we aren't SOLDIER." I reminded him quickly. "And I'll wake up Shera. She doesn't need you banging down her door and threatening hard work if she doesn't come out under the time limit you'll no doubt give."

He frowned. "How is it you know me so well?"

I smiled. "I may not be able to read minds, but I can see just as well as anyone else that you're strict and expect obedience form your men. Maybe I a little too much."

"I was strict, but most of the time it depended on my mood. I can be down right nasty some days and fine company other days." He responded and approached Cid and Barret's door. His fist slammed down loudly, splintering the wood. "Be up and ready in no more than 5 minutes!" He shouted sternly.

"What the &#?" Came Barret's muffled voice.

I suppressed a giggle and started for Shera's door.

Right then a very disgruntled Yuffie burst out of her room. "And what if I come out in 6 minutes!" She retorted, her eyes ablaze and aimed right at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "Than you'll spend the next three hours running laps around Cosmo canyon." He replied coldly. "Don't make me come in there and drag you out."

Her face paled and she scurried back into the room with a slam of the door.

"This'll take some getting used to I think." I mused.

"Well, since you and Nanaki have so kindly appointed me leader of this disheveled group I have to take some steps to straiten you people out." He grumbled and crossed his arms while taking a seat in an empty chair. "And this is one hell of a mess. We should have been ready hours ago!"

"I might point out that you weren't awake till I smacked you with a pillow." I growled. "You might not have woken up for another hour or even longer than that!"

"……" Sephiroth winced in realization. "Blasted woman, why is it you have to do that?"

I smiled. "To keep your head from getting too big." I answered and knocked gently on Shera's door.

"Who is it?" Came a soft, groggy voice.

"It's Tifa!" I called and waited, my ears picking up her tired footsteps approaching.

The door opened slowly revealing her not so lovely morning face. She yawned. "Good morning Tifa." She said and rubbed the side of her face in attempt to wake up a little. "Did the others get back ok?"

"Yes, Cid stayed in Barret's room on the extra bed last night since the girls were in your room." I replied. "Are you coming to the meeting?"

Shera squinted her eyes in contemplation. "No, that isn't necessary. Cid can fill me in and beside someone needs to watch over Melony and Marlene. I'll wake them up and get them something to eat while you guys make plans for today. I'm most likely going to stay here anyways."

"Alright." I answered and turned away as the door closed.

Barret and Cid burst out of their room wearing gruff expressions of extreme annoyance. They both glowered in Sephiroth's direction while muttering incoherent words beneath their breath.

Cid walked over to me and eyed me grumpily. "Five minutes my ass!" He bellowed, tossing his hands into the air and returning his attention to Sephiroth. "I'll tell ya where you can stick yer damn 5 minutes!" He snarled.

I just barely caught what he muttered afterwards and it sounded a lot like 'asshole'. He received a stern elbow in the ribs for that as he passed by.

"Ahem, excuse me, Tif. Didn't mean to insult yer man there." Cid grinned and barely dodged the punch that I threw. "Hey there, simmer down!" He laughed raising his hands in surrender. "Nothin meant by it!"

I scowled. "Yeah right."

Barret's deep-throated laughter seemed to make the walls shudder. "Yo Tif, you sure are touchy today!"

"Oh just shut up!" I shouted, my nostrils flaring. I spun around at the creaking of another door.

Yuffie swaggered out looking half asleep. Probably was too, although she seemed pretty lively just a minute go. "Damn you guys are friggin loud!" She moaned and rubbed her eyes lazily. Her gaze landed on me and she frowned. "So like, where were you last night anyways? Stay up in the Library again or something?"

I felt my entire body go rigid. "Yuffie!" I groaned, feeling several pairs of eyes land on me. My gaze shifted to the floor where it stayed for some time.

"Sooooo!" Cid drawled looking at me with a mischievous smile. "Yer hair's kinda matted."

I looked up at the rustling of Sephiroth's clothing as he shifted nervously in his chair, a blush rising in his pale cheeks. How he was managing to keep his cool I don't know, but I can't imagine he was enjoying this scene all that much. Neither was I for a matter of fact and I'd already made a note to pay my friends back dearly for this.

Yuffie grinned as she spotted Sephiroth's flushed cheeks. A high-pitched cry of excitement emitted her lips. "Holy crap! Seph's blushing!"

Everybody whirled around to stare at him, eyes wide and jaws dropped in amazement.

His eyes hardened into an icy glare, it was the only way to hide his embarrassment. "I hate to break your fun, but we do have something important at hand if you hadn't noticed!" He snapped and stood up. "Nanaki is waiting in the library. I suggest we make haste." With that he stormed out of the room leaving me behind, the bastard.

"Err, yeah." Cid nodded to himself. "Forgot about that."

"What about Marlene?" Barret asked.

"Shera's taking care of the girls till we're finished." I replied dryly.

"Ok." Barret responded. "We better get goin then."

"Yeah." Cid said in agreement and the two headed after Sephiroth leaving just Yuffie and myself in the room.

I sighed. "Yuffie?"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Do you have a hair brush handy?" I asked hopefully. At least I could fix my hair and maybe look a little more decorous.

"Sure, just a sec." She answered and scuttled back into her room. Thirty seconds later she reappeared holding a small brush in her hand. "Here. It's probably kinda lame for hair that long, but it's all I've got."

I took it eagerly. "Thanks Yuffie. It will do fine."

She smiled. "No problem. Let's go."

I nodded and followed her up the outside stairs.

It was a long hard battle between the brush and my hair, but I didn't give in, although I felt like screaming out in agony a few times. Sometimes you just had to yank the brush through and that's when the pain usually came. By the time we reached the library I was looking much better, or at least Yuffie said so.

Everyone was waiting for us when we arrived. Cid leaned against a bookcase, his eyes closed in what looked like sleep. Barret punched him in the arm causing Cid to yelp in surprise and jump away from his resting place.

"Stupid & #&! What the hell was that for?" Cid roared.

"You dumbass, the meeting is startin!" Barret hollered back.

"Both of you could hold down the volume." Nanaki noted irritably and motioned for Yuffie and I to sit down on two empty chairs. "Now, we've got a lot of work to do."

"Indeed we do." Sephiroth spoke up from his lonely spot by the window in the back. "And not enough men to do it."

"I called Reeve earlier and we had a long conversation. He's sending Cait Sith over to help us out if we need him and 3 squads of Soldiers are on their way to the crater to investigate as we speak. That puts that out of the way at least." Nanaki took a moment to catch his breath before continuing.

"Now, according to Reeve the remainders of Lorse's followers are still at large, save for the thieves who have returned to the mountains. Scarlet and Evan are rumored to be searching for the other half of the black materia. As for Chaos, he is absolutely everywhere wrecking havoc wherever he can. Floods have been reported all across the world with descriptions of the purple winged demon being in the premises. There have also been several astounding earth quakes near Nibelheim and North Corel." Nanaki explained, his voice starting to break up from talking too much at once. "Then there's Vincent. There's no telling where he is or if he's alive leaving us with minimal options."

"So, what's that mean?" Yuffie asked.

"It means that we have to find the black materia and also Vincent if we can." Nanaki replied. "We can't do much about Chaos except keep an eye out for him and even then it's hard to say what we'd do. It seems to me his just out getting a few kicks while he's in control and not bounded by his keeper's will. The only thing we can do is search around and wait for reports on the crater."

Sephiroth took a step forward. "I have to go see my mother before I do anything else." He announced and turned his back to us again.

Curious eyes rested on his back.

"That might be a good idea. Lucrecia may have some information as to Vincent's whereabouts if he did survive. Although her she cannot communicate with us very well if at all." Nanaki answered. "But it's worth a try. Cloud's gold chocobo is down in the stables. I'm guessing you will be going with him, right Tifa?"

"If it's ok with him. I have to show him where the cave is anyway." I responded, spying Sephiroth out of the corner of my eyes. The side of his face that I could see was oddly pale. His eyes closed in an almost painful manner and his expression hardened in determination. Something about the way he stood there with out even a twitch worried me. He'd told me that he would go see Lucrecia after this was over. Why the sudden need to go there now?

I stirred in my chair and averted my attention back to Nanaki who'd been speaking the whole while I was lost in thought.

"That means Yuffie's hitchin a ride on the highwind?" Cid asked.

Nanaki nodded. "You two and possibly Cait Sith will head over to Rocket Town. From Reeve's last report it looks to me like Scarlet and Evan were heading there, though we're not sure why. Reeve issued an order that they be captured alive unless you are forced to fight to the death."

Cid gave a snort of disgust. "I can tell ya right now its gonna be a fight to the death. That shit head Evan ain't getting away this time."

"Works for me." Yuffie yawned. "As long as I don't have to fly in a helicopter."

"Barret and I will head down to Mideel to see if the black materia may have appeared there or maybe even Vincent. Make sure you have your PHS so that we can contact each other." Nanaki added.

"PHS?" I echoed. "Uh… I don't have mine. I suppose I could pick it up though. Nibelheim is just South/West from the cave." Of all the things to forget, a PHS was not one of it and I had the nagging feeling I'd probably end up needing one.

"That's fine. You might want to check the mako fountain while you're at it. There might be a chance that the black materia surfaced there too." Nanaki said. "That's about it I guess unless anyone else has something to say. We'll all meet back here tonight unless there is a change of plan and we discover some new information."

"So, is dat it?" Barret grumbled. "I'm hungry. We aven't eaten breakfast yet."

"Yes." Nanaki replied.

"I think I'll have a pancake." Cid announced and preceded out the door with Barret trailing right on his heels.

Yuffie sat up and rest her head on the table. "I think I'll take a short nap."

"Get up Yuffie." I smiled and nudged her in the thigh with my foot.

She moaned in response and shifted her position. "I don't want to."  
I stood up and stretched my arms into the air feeling a few bones pop here and there.

"When will you two be leaving?" Nanaki asked.

Sephiroth turned swiftly from the window. "Now." He answered and whispered something into Nanaki's ear.

Nanaki visibly stiffened and his head snapped up immediately. "Alright then, we'll see you tonight." He answered simply, but it was clear that a tension had risen resulting from whatever Sephiroth had said.

Sephiroth nodded and brushed passed me.

Yuffie looked at Nanaki in confusion. "What was that?"

"I'll tell you when everyone is together." Nanaki replied.

Yuffie gave a disapproving grunt and looked over at Sephiroth. "Bye Seph!" Yuffie exclaimed exuberantly and waved frantically at him.

He stopped and twisted his head around to glare at her. "Tifa, let's go." He said through gritted teeth and disappeared out the door.

"What a stiff." Yuffie muttered. "Oh well, by Tifa!" She said, her eyes lighting up again.

"Bye, Yuffie, bye Nanaki." I called and hurried after Sephiroth. Thousands of discouraging thoughts raided my mind and slowly began to tear me apart as I tried to catch up. Something was definitely wrong and he wasn't telling me. He'd have to soon enough though.

"Yo Tif, you goin already?" Barret spoke up as I was running pass.

"Yeah, bye guys!" I said quickly and kept on my way. A faint goodbye sounded out from behind me as I left.

Sephiroth was saddling the chocobo when I finally got there and was nearly finished by the looks of it. How the man is so fast I'll never know. He was a god.

Not a sound came out while his hands worked with a determined urgency as I waited patiently. He grabbed the reins having finished saddling the animal and led the gold-feathered bird out of the stable.

We walked in silence down the steps of Cosmo Canyon and onto the dry lands that surrounded it. Sephiroth came to a stop and gazed at me, worry apparent in his eyes.

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" I asked while rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet.

"I heard Jenova's voice. She's indeed alive and fully recovered I believe or else she'd not waste her energy trying to speak to me." He said quietly. With one strong leap he was in the saddle, his hand extended to me.

For a moment I just stared feeling only the horror and fear of what his words meant. Not this time though, I thought. He was mine and would stay mine! I grasped his hand and let him swing me up into his lap. His strength never ceased to amaze me like so many other things about him. I felt small suddenly thinking about it. He was so talented and amazing, and I…I was just Tifa. Nothing special. What did he see in me?

_Shut up…_ Sephiroth's voice pounded in my head painfully.

"Why is it you're always reading my mind when you shouldn't be?" I asked, chewing my lip shamefully.

"It was a good thing I did." He muttered angrily and kicked the chocobo in the flanks. The bird lurched forward jerking me violently back against Sephiroth's chest. "Do you honestly think that you're not gorgeous, talented and absolutely irresistible?"

I leaned back and sighed. "Well, I wouldn't say that…"

"Then you'd be wrong." Sephiroth stated. "You are all of those things and much more so quit it before I have I'm forced to stop and prove it to you in brood daylight."

I giggled. "I wouldn't mind that."

"Neither would I, but unfortunately we do have a task at hand and a rather important one too if I'm to keep from coming under Jenova's control." He replied.

"I know." I whispered softly. "I won't let her though."

"Where to then?"

"North."

* * *

The ride lasted a good 3 hours on the chocobo, which I ended up naming Blade (Sephiroth insisted) because I couldn't remember its original name. The mountains gave us hell, but we managed. On the other side lay the waterfall and the shimmering waters of the lake it fell into. 

When we made it to the trail that led into the cave, Sephiroth dismounted and sat down having been overcome with another confrontation between he and Jenova. His head rested in his hands as he struggled against her will.

I wrapped my arms around him giving all the love I could and waited for it to pass. He wouldn't give in to her, not now and I was not about to let it happen either.

His eyes opened finally and he let out a short gasp of pain. He embraced me hard and whispered his thanks into my ear before standing up. His eyes drifted to the cave.

"Do you want me to stay here?" I asked.

"No." He answered quickly. "I want you to come with me."

I nodded and walked up beside him. "Ok, I'm ready. How about you?"

"As I'll ever be." He mumbled and started for the entrance.

My hand slipped into his as we walked. He trembled beside me and his eyes darted about uncertainly as we entered the dim cavern. The room was empty and would probably have been completely quiet if not for the thundering waterfall outside.

"She isn't here." Sephiroth stated nervously.

"Wait." I assured him and he did.

Time passed and I was getting worried when something in the atmosphere seemed to change alerting the presence of an unseen being.

A gust of cold air drifted between us and suddenly formed the transparent figure of Lucrecia in white folds of ghostly silk. She looked at me and smiled in recognition. Her empty eyes then drifted to Sephiroth where they halted sharply. She shuddered in disbelief and came closer, looking deeper into his eyes. As she searched him over, reality began to settle in.

Sephiroth's eyes never left her face as an inner turmoil surfaced. What does one feel when they finally meet their true mother after many years of believing her to be someone else? The amount of emotion that was etched in his face and eyes surprised me. An inner yearning revealed it self as he looked upon the ghost of his mother, so lifeless and cold.

The story of her life as well as Vincent and their son was terribly tragic. After all she'd suffered here she was drifting in a world between life and death with no escape. Would she ever find peace? I would have done anything to give it to her right then. She was a flawless picture of melancholy beauty floating silently before us and it wrenched at the heart of whoever witnessed her silent, pleading eyes.

I never thought it was possible for a ghost to cry, but I'll admit I really don't know that many ghosts. It was a first for me when the crystal tears rolled down her pale, transparent cheeks and shattered onto the stone floor. It was the only sound she could make and Sephiroth winced at the barely audible splash.

She lifted her spectral hand hesitantly and reached out to him with every piece of her broken heart, and he returned the gesture. A bright smile framed her face and she laced her fingers through his, though they actually passed through his hand. 'I love you' she mouthed.

My eyes widened as flecks of green light materialized out of nowhere and orbited Lucrecia's phantom figure. Very slowly the light closed around her and disappeared into the folds of her gown. Her eyes closed as the strange energy consumed her.

I stared in wonder as her skin became a creamy peach color and her eyes as well as her loosely done hair acquired a vibrant brown color. Her bare feet touched the ground and were then concealed by the cascading folds of her gown.

Sephiroth swallowed hard and took a hesitant step forward. "Mother?"

Lucrecia beamed a bright smile and threw her eager arms around her son. "The curse has been broken." She exclaimed happily feeling the vibration of her vocal cords for the first time in many years.

He returned the embrace, though hesitant at first.

"Sephiroth my son, you've grown into man!" She breathed. "I only wish I could have been there." Her voice was sad as she uttered the last words and she pulled away reluctantly. "I'm not deserving of your affection, it's more than I could ever ask just to see you here now."

Sephiroth gently took hold of her hand and lifted it to his lips for a simple kiss. "It's not for me to say now whether you are deserving of it or not yet. I know so little about you or my father for that matter, but it is more important to me than you may think. Give me time."  
Lucrecia smiled. "You've changed." She said softly. "Only 5 years ago Vincent was here speaking of the battle he would have to fight against you. But Jenova has returned once more."

He nodded. "She has, making me an immediate threat."

"Anyone who carries active cells of Jenova are potential threats, but we must live with it and overcome her will." Lucrecia replied. "It's not easy by any means, but love and determination will prevail in the end."

Sephiroth shot me a quick smile.

Lucrecia's eyes fell on me for the first time then. "Hello Tifa, I seem to recall you coming here once with Vincent and Cloud, correct?"

"Yes." I answered.

Her gaze went back and forth between the two of us curiously as she detected the strong bond we shared, but she went no further than that. She only smiled and gave me a quick hug. "I must thank you for bringing my son here. If not for this I would never have escaped my imprisonment of mourning and I intend to repay you for your kindness."

I shook my head diligently. "That isn't necessary. I was happy to do it."

"I will repay you just the same in some way." She said, a hint of approval in her eyes. "Now, you two must be looking for Vincent."

"Yes." I answered.

"He's in Mideel right now where the lifestream left him. His body must go through a very long process of rejuvenation before he will awaken again, but he will live. There may be a way to quicken the healing as well." Lucrecia replied.

I let out a sigh of relief. "That's wonderful news! We'll need to tell the others as soon as possible, but we have to get to Nibelheim first."

"That's fine. You two should probably go on and I will wait here." Lucrecia said giving us both a little push out.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Completely." She smiled. "Just as long as someone comes to pick me up later."

"Oh we will!" I assured her.

"You'll be arlight here?" Sephiroth questioned.

"Perfect." She said. "Now get going, time is of the essence!"

* * *

**Author's Notes**: AAAHHHHHHHH! Lol, something is seriously wrong with me. Sigh, I feel good today, how about all of you? Actually, I'm half dead and barely conscious. These nights always end up being so long.

Thank you everyone for staying with me!


	12. Chapter 12: A Very Rude Awakening

**Chapter 12: **_A Very Rude Awakening_**  
**

**Disclaimer: **Well, here I am…again…telling everyone that I don't own ff7…again.

Hello my fabulous reviewers that are probably all going at my throat because it has taken me so long to update! A billion pardons for being so late! I'm terribly sorry for the long wait, but I had really bad writer's block. Please forgive me for taking so long! Ok, this chapter may be borderline between PG13 and rated R because of blood, but it isn't that bad really.

Oh and I'd like to thank you Frank Verderosa for the wonderful e-mail you sent me! I greatly appreciated it and your helpful comments. Thank you very much!

* * *

It was closing in on 4 p.m. when we finally reached the outskirts of what we thought to be Nibelheim. One would have seen the village easily if it weren't for the hail of rain that was beating on us relentlessly. A thick layer of hazy fog had wrapped itself around us limiting my vision to just about 6 feet in front of me. 

The road ahead had long since turned into a giant mud hole, slowing our progress down considerably. Blade was getting tired from the constant struggle with the insistent muck at his feet, and was forced to stop a number of times to catch his breath before moving on.

I lifted my gaze to the sky, shielding my face as best I could from the pelting drops of water, and tried to find any hint of an improvement in the weather. A bright smile lit my face as I spied a single ray of sunshine peeking through the gray thunderclouds that crowded the sky. The fog, however, still remained and was making it all the more difficult to find our way to Nibelheim.

Sephiroth let out a loud groan of annoyance as Blade hunched forward in exhaustion and came to a sharp halt. My ears picked up the sound of angry muttering as Sephiroth jumped off the saddle and into the mess below. Upon landing, sludge and water sprayed everywhere including on his face.

He sucked in a quick breath and let out a string of curses loud enough to be heard on the other side of the world, even with the rain. I bit my lip almost too hard in astonishment at his uncharacteristic outburst and held back to urge to laugh. He certainly was a sight to see, knee deep in muck, his hair drenched with water and mud rolling down the sides of his still handsome face.

"Yes?" He inquired through gritted teeth, his eyes ablaze and set firmly on mine.

"Nothing." I answered, trying to sound as honest as possible while doing so.

He scowled and roughly swiped away a smudge of soil from his face. "I suppose you think it's funny!" He hissed. "Well you're not the one who's got to walk in it." He grumbled and tugged aggressively on Blade's reins.

The bird paused briefly and finally started forward in response to Sephiroth's insistent pulling.

After a good 20 yards Blade stopped again and this time refused to take another step forward. At this rate we'd never reach Nibelheim and for all we knew we could be heading in the wrong direction. The rain was receding however, as well as the fog, making the going a little easier.

Now it was my turn to abandon ship though and enter the perilous slime below. I cringed as I landed, sinking to my calves. At least it wasn't quite as deep as it was a ways back I thought, and trudged on ahead.

Blade was still quite reluctant to move, but after a bit of urging Sephiroth was able to get him going again.

From here we made for higher ground and hopefully better walking. Sephiroth signaled to halt at the top of a small hill in order to rest our weary legs.

I squinted my eyes at the receding wall of fog and found that I could see the tops of buildings in the distance. "Look!" I exclaimed excitedly, bouncing up and down with newfound joy.

Sephiroth stole a glance in the direction I pointed and nodded in acknowledgment. "Like I said, we were perfectly on course." He growled and swept passed me, his shoulder bumping into mine. Blade followed closely behind him.

I wrinkled my nose, refusing to admit defeat. "Oh fine, you were right." I muttered and started off down the hill after him. "I still say it was luck though!"

"You would." He mumbled.

The remainder of the trip was easy going and the rain had quit completely when we arrived at the gates. Not a single soul could be seen wondering the wet streets as we cautiously entered. The silence was overbearing and brought nervous jitters to my bones. I found my eyes darting here and there, as if expecting some horrible beast or person to jump out of nowhere and attack. Surely there would be someone in the streets in midda,y rain or no rain? Besides, it had stopped, where was everyone?

From the corner of my eye Sephiroth was also looking about the village curiously, the emptiness arousing suspicion in him as well. His fingers tapped rhythmically against the butt of his sword, completely aware of anything that might be amiss.

We stopped at the center of town and strained our ears to the eerie silence that encompassed the entire area. The sudden sound of swift wing beats approaching causing both Sephiroth and myself to spin around.

My eyes widened on Chaos just before I was thrust backwards by an enormous burst of power as he flew pass. I rolled across the muddy ground and slammed against a door, coming to a halt.

I pushed myself to my feet, prepared to face the worst only to find Sephiroth and Chaos already in heated battle, and a glorious fight it was.

Decades elapsed while I sat in complete awe, staring at the most remarkable scene I'd ever seen in my life. The speed at which they moved was simply remarkable.

Of all things, Chaos never struck me as a creature that would be all that great hand-to-hand fighting. After all, his claws were his only real physical weapons, but the beast was truly gifted with them, to say the least.

Chaos proved to be a formidable opponent obviously by staying alive this long, but would he be able to withstand Sephiroth's will and determination? I didn't think so. In fact it looked as if Chaos was searching for an opportunity to run already, but because of Sephiroth's speed it was nearly impossibly for him to do so. Several times Chaos attempted to take flight only to be caught by the blade of the masamune and brought back down.

After watching for a good 10 minutes I decided to make myself a little more useful and get up. By now I noticed that several people were huddling in their windows to watch the dramatic duel raging in the street.

I made my way to where Blade huddled, his feathers ruffled up in terror, and tried to calm him down a little. Together we waited for something to happen. Wounds decorated Chaos's thin body and oozed a dark, purple liquid.

It would have been nice if I could help, but this was far beyond me as I well knew and if I were to even attempt helping I'd simply be getting in Sephiroth's way.

My heart stopped momentarily as one of Chaos' claws penetrated Sephiroth's defense and caught him in the stomach, drawing a small amount of blood. Sephiroth, who was taken off guard by the attack, stumbled back and grasped at the wound with his free hand. This gave Chaos a chance to flee and he wasted no time. Despite the exhaustion obvious in his weakly looking body, he could still fly at a good pace.

I was about to go to Sephiroth's side when I realized he was already next to me, wrenching Blade's reins from my hands. "I'll be back." He snarled with only the smallest hint of fatigue in his voice.

"What!" I shrieked and felt my entire body go rigid with fear. "You can't be serious!" I cried. "He'll be long gone by now and Blade's exhausted!"

Sephiroth paid me no heed and leapt up into the saddle. "Call the others and get them over here."

"But-"

"Do it!" He snapped and gave Blade a hard kick in the flanks.

"Be careful!" I shouted as they sped off towards the mountain path where Chaos had been heading and vanished behind the trees.

A scowl drifted onto my face and I shook my head. "He just can't stand it, can he? He has to finish it." I sighed and trudged in the direction of my house. It was probably best though and Sephiroth might even be able to catch him.

Chaos had been severely injured in their skirmish and probably wasn't capable of going too far with out a rest, although he was a demon so who knows?

I dug into my pockets in search of my key as I came up to my door. My lips curled in agitation when I'd discovered nothing that resembled what I was looking for after a good thorough examination of all my pockets and pouches. "Oh isn't this just great?" I groaned.

This pretty much left me with only one option. I took a step back, focusing on the lock of the door and unleashed a sidekick. The door burst open, the lock breaking upon impact. Splinters of wood fell to the floor as I stepped inside.

Everything was the same, just as I had left it. The same cold, loneliness hung in the stale air and the silent cries of those who'd died here years ago still vibrated the walls of the house. Sometimes being here alone could be very unnerving, how I'd gotten used to it I don't know.

I bit my lip and looked around the rather plain room that was already collecting a layer of dust on its sad inhabitants. The wooden floorboards creaked beneath my feet as I approached the counter where my PHS happened to be sitting.

My hand slithered across the plastic surfaced counter and slipped around the PHS. I gaped at it for a long time wondering all the while if I remembered any of my friend's numbers. That was poor planning on my part, but there was a number on the top of my head and I was pretty sure it belonged to Cid. With a simple shrug of my shoulders I punched in the number and brought the phone to my ear.

After about 5 rings I was beginning to lose my patience when someone answered it, followed by the usual string of curses that only Cid was so well known for using.

"Hi Cid!" I said cheerfully.

"Tifa?" He echoed.

"None other."

"Oh, hey! I was just about to call ya! Nanaki and the others just arrived at Mideel and it turns out Vincent is there, although his condition isn't all that great."

"Yeah, I know. Lucrecia told us." I answered.

"Wait a second, ain't she dead?"

"Was dead. Not anymore though. It's a long story." I explained.

"Oh…" There was a long pause. "So, is she still at the cave then?"

"Yeah, I was hoping you could pick her up on your way here."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that? I don't have a golden chocobo!" Cid exclaimed.

"Well, there is a rope ladder on the Highwind. Can't you just let it down to the path that leads behind the waterfall?" I asked.

Cid mumbled to himself for a bit before answering. "Yeah, yeah, I suppose we could try that, but who knows if the Highwind will fit. It'll be a while before we get there regardless. Anything else happenin?"

"We ran into Chaos. Sephiroth went after him a minute ago and left me here alone." I answered.

"What! That dumbass left you there alone!" Cid bellowed.

"Cid, you know I'm quite capable of taking care of myself."

"Yeah, yeah I know, but still…" He trailed off. "Evan and Scarlet weren't at Rocket Town, we don't know where they are. They might end up in Nibelheim so be careful and keep your eyes open."

"I will Cid, don't worry."

"Ok then, we'll be there in around 6 hours or so, weather permitting. Looks like there's a storm headin this way, might slow us down a bit."

"Alright then, we'll be waiting here. Take care!"

"Same to you, bye." Cid answered and the conversation ended.

I sighed tiredly and glanced down at my soaked clothes, caked with mud and grass. It'd be nice to change into something more comfortable I thought and headed up the stairs to my room.

The door stood ajar revealing the corner of my piano as I approached. I stepped inside and headed for my dresser that rested against the wall next to my window.

Movement in the street caught my attention as I opened the first drawer and I abandoned my search for clothes in order to peer outside. My eyes narrowed on a suspicious looking character garbed in a long trench coat and carrying an umbrella. Was it just me or was there something extremely odd about a person wearing high heels in conditions like this?

I looked a little closer and tried to see beneath the umbrella, catching only a glimpse of blonde hair. "Scarlet." The word rolled off my tongue like acid. Behind her were three burly men slouching horribly as they walked. Where was Evan I wondered?

"Doesn't matter." I said out loud and threw open the window.

They were disappearing up the mountain path, no doubt to search the mako fountain in hopes of finding the black materia. They, however, would not be getting that far. Without hesitation I leapt out the window and landed lightly on the muddy ground.

I pursued them through the forest, soundlessly tracing their path and then mistakenly set foot on a stick. The snapping sound immediately alerted my presence and the four of them spun around.

"You!" Scarlet snarled venomously. Her eyes flamed with animosity and she looked towards her bodyguards. "Well!" She cried while glaring at her idiotic henchmen. "Get her!"

The three men looked at each other uncertainly at first, but soon replaced their fear with wide, toothless grins.

I cringed in disgust and held my ground as they approached, my fists raised. As far as I could tell this was going to be a blow out of large proportions. It wouldn't even be a challenge.

The first lunged forward for some odd reason, leaving his face completely open and unprotected, allowing me to let loose a fatal side kick that snapped his neck the moment it landed.

Well, that's one down. Two more to go! The remaining two weren't quite as stupid as their deceased friend, but they certainly didn't rank high on the intelligence scale. Both rippled with muscles, but it was clear that their overall skills were lacking considerably. When one of them finally mustered up the courage to attack he missed so badly his momentum sent him flying passed and into a nearby tree without me ever touching him.

The last man had pulled out a chain and believing that he'd discovered an opportunity to make his move, swung it in the direction of my head. Unfortunately for him he'd not worked up much speed on his swing and the attack failed miserably.

I caught the weapon easily in my hand and jerked it hard, wrenching it from the dumbstruck man's hands. This time I took the initiative and dealt my own punishment. He lay on the ground in a pool of his own blood when I finally finished.

Very suddenly the man who'd previously run himself into a tree grabbed me from behind, or at least I was guessing that's whom it was. His grip hardened and caused me to cry out in pain as my arm was twisted painfully.

I immediately relaxed, feigning defeat. His grip loosened in response, another sign of extreme stupidity, and he started to drag me in Scarlet's direction, but I had not intention of going near her just yet and yanked myself from his unsuspecting hands.

I spun around and caught him in the jaw with an elbow followed up by punch to his oversized gut and a knee in the balls. As he fell to the ground in immense pain I kneed him in the face, knocking him unconscious. My concern immediately skipped to dealing with Scarlet as I turned to face her. "You're next."

All of a sudden Scarlet didn't look near so arrogant and almighty. Then she smirked. "What? Are you going to kill me?" She chuckled and produced a gun from her pocket. "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

My hands clenched into fist as the adrenaline flow in my body intensified.

Scarlet broke in to hilarious laughter. "Looks like you're out of options my dear. Time is up for you. I'm tired of seeing your face anyways."

A chill ran up my spine and fear clenched tightly at my soul. Was this it?

The silent tension in the air was suddenly shattered by a battle cry sounding out from the trees and out from ran a young, blond haired woman. Scarlet was so discombobulated by the sudden appearance of another person that she wasn't at all ready to be tackled by the frail young woman I knew to be Anna. The two crashed to the ground and proceeded rolling around in the mud with their hands around each other's throats.

Luckily Scarlet had dropped the gun upon impact and it lay on the ground several feet away from their battle. As I went for it though a fist slammed into my back and knocked me down. I rolled over quickly, ignoring the pain as best I could, to find Evan looking down at me, an amused gleam in his gray eyes.

"Long time no see Lockheart." He grinned. "You didn't think I'd just disappear did you?"

I clenched my teeth in attempt to control my steadily rising anger. Behind Evan were 2 men, both wearing the silver suites that resembled Turk uniforms. My gaze darted to where Anna was currently clawing at Scarlet's face.

Evan sighed in repulsion. "Alex, Jacob, please remove the maid from our idiotic boss." He ordered and turned back to me. "You move, they kill her."

The situation was looking quite bleak to say the least. I watched helplessly as my friend was slugged in the stomach and dropped to her knees. I shook my head quietly. "Oh Anna, why didn't you just stay out of this?" I whispered sadly. How could I've made such a mistake? I hadn't even heard him coming.

"I would have thought you'd be more aware than that." Evan grinned. "That was a rather foolish mistake."

Desperation set in as I looked from Anna to Evan. There had to be something I could do!

Scarlet stumbled to her feet and promptly slapped Anna harshly across the face. "Stupid wench! This isn't your affair." She hissed. "Get rid of her." She growled.

The two men holding Anna nodded and commenced dragging her away from the scene. Just as long as they didn't harm her, I was happy. Now it was my own neck that I had to worry about, but without the two Turks my odds were a lot better.

Evan crossed his arms and gave Scarlet a look of extreme agitation. "How did you manage to lose all three of your men!" He growled. "You do realize that Sephiroth is bound to be around somewhere?"

"Shut up!" She snapped. "If you're so worried about it than grab her and let's go. Maybe if you three idiots hadn't fallen behind we could have avoided this entirely." She muttered and strut passed, glaring at me with enmity. "Better yet, just kill her."

My cheeks flushed red with furry and I threw out my leg, knocking her feet out from under her. I punched with all my power at the blonde's face and broke her nose with the blow. Shortly afterwards I was flung to the side by Evan and narrowly missed being kneed in the face.

I rolled over and got to my feet quickly. I could feel my limit break craving to be let loose, but I was not quite ready to execute it. Another couple hard hits received and Evan was a dead man.

He snickered and circled me with anticipation. The bastard thought he had the battle won already, well he was up for a rude awakening. My gaze slipped absentmindedly to the two Turks, who'd just returned and decided that they too would join in the battle. Just when things are going your way it all comes crumbling down.

In my folly Evan lurched forward and caught me off guard executing a brutal undercut that had me stumbling backwards. I just barely caught sight of one of the two Turks as he lunged forward with a dagger. Though it did inflict damage, it was not near as bad as it would have been had I not noticed him in the last minute, and it had brought me to my limit break.

I quickly dodged the third Turk's fists and spun around to face the three of them. Scarlet was currently weeping over her broken nose and showing no interest in the current battle, so I automatically excluded her from the opponents list.

My lips curved into a smile and I focused on Evan. "Final Heaven!" I shouted, feeling my body surge with energy and power. Evan brought up his arms in defense, but my assault easily penetrated it.

He lasted a while, but my anger and hatred drove me over the top. As the end of my limit neared I came to a sudden stop as Evan fell to his knees, his body soaked in blood from the many wounds I'd inflicted upon him. "It's over." I said quietly and a roundhouse kick finished him off, leaving his neck broken. The moment his body dropped to the ground I was facing the two remaining opponents.

For a time it seemed like this might never end. They were good fighters, which resulted in a stalemate that had been going on for 5 very long minutes. It seemed that neither they nor I could come up with a way of hurting the other. Then the weaker of the two made a mistake and got too close, allowing me to use my speed against him and finish him off before the other could counter.

"You idiot!" Scarlet shrieked as another one of her men fell, or rather Evan's men.

I took a step back, my breathing ragged and heavy. The Turk also appeared quite fatigued and chose this time to rest his weary muscles, using only a minimal amount energy to keep an eye on me as best he could.

My mind focused on the mastered Ice materia that sat in one of my slots and the spell was summoned before he could react.

It killed him easily, but my energy was at an all time low and I could barely stand. I'd completely forgotten that Scarlet was even there and didn't notice her picking up the gun that lay on the ground until it was too late.

She held it tightly in her hands as she approached, the barrel pointed at my chest. "I've wanted so long to kill you." She snarled. Blood still flowed from her broken nose and one small droplet found its way into her mouth. She immediately began spitting out the foul liquid.

Taking advantage of the short opening, stepped forward, kicked up and disarmed her, flinging the gun into the bushes. She staggered backwards in terror and looked around frantically for a weapon.

I saw her eyes narrow on the knife that lay nearby one of the fallen Turks and in an instant we were both racing for it. I had to get to my feet first, giving her the advantage at the start, but her heels limited her speed considerably allowing me pass in the last second. Her nails dug into my skin as I went by and she attempted to shove me away, but I kept my balance.

We both dove for the dagger at the same time and as our bodies slammed into the ground, mud was flung in every direction. Amidst the disarray I found the knife and swung it around, ready to deal the finishing blow. Scarlet, in one last frantic attempt to stop me threw her self on top of me and basically brought on her own death as she landed right on the dagger held securely in my hands.

Her eyes flared wide as the blade drove through her chest, over come by sudden trauma as death looked her in the eyes and laughed. A cry escaped her lips, her face contorted in pain and she rolled over beside me.

I watched her for a while, looking for any sign of life and finaly place two fingers on her motionless neck to make sure. When there was no heartbeat I flopped onto my back and let out a long, agonizing groan. My body was literally drenched with mud and blood, not all of it belonging to me thankfully.

I looked up at the sky, now revealing small pieces of blue here and there, and sighed peacefully. At least they were out of the way now, I thought. I'd have to deal with my own condition soon though or I might not be around to enjoy the aftermath of victory.

It wasn't long before the sound of footsteps sloshing through the mud breached my ears. Overcome with the sudden dread that someone else was sneaking up behind me to kill me, I tired in vain to sit up. "Ugh…shit." I moaned.

I was showered with relief as a very familiar and handsome face appeared above me, looking down on me with concern. Did you catch him?" I croaked and this time managed to get up to a sitting position without collapsing.

Sephiroth kneeled down beside me. "No." He said quietly and looked around curiously, his eyes pausing on the bodies that were scattered about the forest floor. "You've been busy."

"Yeah." I said and winced as his hand gently brushed against the wound in my side.

"Can you walk?" He asked.

I tapped my fingers lightly against the muddy ground thoughtfully. "I don't know." I answered. "I'll try."

"I'll help you." He said and pulled me to my feet.

Blade waited patiently behind him looking rather perky oddly enough.

"It isn't far to go, unless you want to ride Blade?" Sephiroth asked.

My legs felt like jelly, but they weren't quite as tired as I had first thought. "No, I can walk." I answered. Sephiroth placed an arm around my waist to steady me and we slowly made our way back to the village with Blade following closely behind us.

There were several people crowding the streets when we arrived and I could just barely make out Anna in the center. She appeared to be ok to my ultimate delight. She'd certainly surprised me today. Of all the people to come to my rescue, Anna was the last person I expected to see.

She caught sight of us as instantly and pushed her way through the crowd. "Tifa!" She exclaimed worriedly and completely ignored the fact that Sephiroth, the world's former enemy, was currently helping me. "Are you ok?" She asked, placing herself between the door to my house and us.

"Yeah, I'm ok." I assured her. "Are you?"

"I've been better." She said, obviously quite shaken by the incident, but bravely putting aside her fear. She smiled shyly and glanced at Sephiroth. Her eyes widened momentarily. "Oh!" She exclaimed. "Aren't you…?"

"Yes." He said dryly. "Now would kindly step aside so that we can get inside?"

"Of course!" She said sternly and hurried through the door.

Sephiroth frowned. "I don't recall saying go inside the house."

Anna spun around, her hands set firmly on her hips. "Don't you even try it buster! I risked my neck for her! There's no way I'm going to sit outside and not help. Now quit standing there like an old goat and get in here!"

My jaw dropped in astonishment.

Anna simply grinned and held the door open for us.

Sephiroth glared at her with hostility and opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when my elbow jabbed him lightly in the side.

"Anna?" I called once inside, remembering that Blade was standing in the middle of the street currently.

"Yes?"

"Can you get Jonathan or someone to take care of Blade for the moment?" I asked.

"Oh sure!" She smiled and disappeared out the door.

Sephiroth brought me over to the couch where I collapsed and curled up into the cushions wanting nothing more, but to sleep.

A familiar green light encircled me and gradually the wound in my side healed as well as a few bruises and soar spots.

"That's about all that can be done." Sephiroth said.

"Thank you." I murmured. "I feel a lot better than before, that's for sure."

Sephiroth smirked. "No doubt. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner."

I yawned and stretched my arms out. "I had everything under control." I said. "You don't have to come to my rescue every time. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't fight like everyone else."

"I know." He replied. "And that is one of the many reasons I admire you. You can hold your own as well as any men when it comes to fighting. It's not every day I come across a woman like yourself that I know I can depend on in a battle without having to rescue all the time. You're one of a kind and certainly the only female on this earth that I can stand."

"I hope that's a compliment." I said and smiled.

Just then Anna returned and after looking me over from head to toe, frowned. "I'm going to run a bath for you, you're a mess." She said.

I laughed and nodded. "Please! I must be a hideous sigh, all covered in mud and blood. It's a wonder how you recognized me."

Sephiroth squinted his eyes and titled his head to study me. "I think I can see someone who vaguely resembles Tifa." He said, his eyes glimmering with sarcasm.

"I suppose that's a good sign." I said and stood up, watching Anna as she entered the bathroom. She'd been in my house before and knew here way around pretty well. "If you don't mind I'm going to get some clean clothes." I announced and slipped pass Sephiroth, the stairs my destination.

"And if I do?" He challenged.

I stopped momentarily and glanced over my shoulder at him. "I'd like to see you try and stop me." I said and winked playfully.

"It would be much too easy." He called as I started up the stairs.

After dragging out something new to wear I headed back downstairs and into the bathroom where Anna was running hot water in the bath. "How much longer?" I asked while tugging off my dirty boots.

"It's almost ready." She answered and poured in some of my bubble bath soap. She turned off the faucet and stood up. "Well, it's finished. I better let you wash up. Do you need anything else?"

"No, I'm fine. Go on." I said and waved as she disappeared out the door.

It felt wonderful to finally rid myself of my grimy clothes and slip into the hot water. My aching muscles welcomed the soothing warmth that surrounded them.

I rested my head back against the edge of the tub and smiled. A good 5 inches of foam rested on the surface of the water. There was nothing like a hot bubble bath.

My eyes closed and I drifted off into a light doze, letting my strained muscles loosen up and rest. Minutes later there was a nock on the door, startling me out of my tranquil moment and causing me to snort soap my nose. "Who is it!" I snapped and tried in a mad frenzy to dull the searing pain in my nostrils.

"Me." Came Sephiroth's voice.

The door began to open and my hand closed around a block of soap. As his head peeked through the opening I hurled the object at his head and he swiftly dodged behind the protection of the door.

"Jerk!" I shouted.

"What the hell did I do?" He demanded.

"You made me get soap up my nose!" I whined and huddled further beneath the foam. "And who invited you in anyway? If you hadn't noticed, I'm taking a bath!"

Again the door opened and Sephiroth slipped inside, closing it behind him. "What are you going to do about it? Jump out and attack me in the nude?" He chuckled.

My teeth clenched and I glared at him. "There went all of your good manners." I mumbled and began scrubbing my legs with a bath sponge. "So, do you have a reason for barging in here during my bath?"

"To tell you that you're friend Anna left and to ask if you'd talked to the others yet." He responded.

"Yeah, I talked to Cid." I answered and began explaining all that Cid had told me during our conversation.

Sephiroth sighed and leaned against the sink. "No word of Jenova then?"

"No." I answered and dunked my head beneath the water to wash my hair. When I was sure that I'd done a thorough enough job I resurfaced to find that Sephiroth had left. I frowned slightly and finished the rest of my bath in record time.

It only took me 5 minutes to dress into another pair of shorts and a black sports top. I dried my hair with a towel and grabbed a brush on my way out.

Sephiroth was standing quietly by the window when I entered the living room.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

He looked away from the window for only a moment "No, I'm fine." He answered. "Maybe later."

"Ok." I answered. "You can take a bath if you want. There are towels and wash cloths in the cupboard by the sink." I lowered my gaze to the hideously dirty clothing he wore. "I'll clean your clothes too."

Sephiroth turned away from his station by the window and nodded. "If you would, I'd appreciate it, but I'll need something temporary to wear."

"No problem." I smiled. "There's, uh, bubble bath stuff too if you like lots of foam. Something tells me that isn't your thing though, but, just incase."

He nodded and headed down the hall, closing the door behind him with a click.

Meanwhile I bounded into the kitchen and went on a voyage through the pantry seeking out a cup of noodles for dinner, for I was hungry. After completing my mission I put on the kettle, and sprinted up the stairs to find a pair of sweat pants and shirt for Sephiroth.

There were loads of old clothing in my parent's room, or the room that duplicated my parent's room. All of it was put there by Shin-Ra of course, to make it seem like the original. I'd never done much searching through it, but there was plenty of clothing suitable for a man of Sephiroth's size.

It didn't take me long to fetch out a pair of black sweat pants. The insides were extremely fuzzy making me want to get a pair of my own. There was nothing in the world more comfortable than sweats, but they weren't really meant to make a fashion statement. Sephiroth didn't care besides.

Now for a shirt… There was plenty to choose from, but at the moment I was feeling very naughty not to mention the kettle was whistling. I grinned evilly, grabbed the sweats and raced back down the stairs to turn off my water. Why should he need a shirt around here? It was only the two of us after all.

I set my cup of noodles aside to let them set after pouring the water and headed down the hall towards the bathroom. As my hand rose to knock, Sephiroth's voice rang out from the room.

"You can come in. I'm not prone to throwing soap blocks at people." He hollered.

As I walked through the door I jerked to a halt upon seeing Sephiroth almost completely submerged in what looked like a tub full of foam and nothing else. A giggle burst forth from my chest and I covered my mouth to restrain from losing control.

"Something wrong?" He growled and flicked a piece of foam across the room in my general vicinity.

"N-n-no." I stammered, biting back the grin that pulled insistently at my lips. "H-having fun?"

"Thrilled." He mumbled and sunk deeper into the water till all that was visible were his eyes, which were currently on me.

Having time to recover from the sudden laughing attack, I placed the Sephiroth's 'temporary clothing' on the table top of the sink and was enthralled to find that he'd put all of his things in a neat pile rather then spread them all over the floor.

I lifted the stack of clothing off the floor, a bit startled by the heaviness of it all. "Holy shit! Is this stuff lined with lead?" I gasped.

"Mud." Sephiroth replied crisply. "Lots of mud."

"I guess." I said and curled my foot around the edge of the partly closed door to open it. "I'll come back and close the door." I said and made my way the washroom that sat across the hall. My tired arms were quite relieved to be rid of the burden that was Sephiroth's muddy clothes and I returned to close the door.

I glanced inside. "Is everything satisfactory?"

"Aside from the fact that you seemed to have not brought me a shirt, yes." He replied.

"Oh, really?" I asked, trying to sound baffled. "Must have slipped my mind."

"Must have." He replied, quite unconvinced that it was an accident.

My stomach grumbled reminding me that I'd food waiting for me and I closed the door without another word.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: At last. This is a huge burden that has finally been lifted from my shoulders (I've been trying to write this thing for two weeks). I hope it turned out alright. Thanks everyone!  



	13. Chapter 13: I Believe In You

**Chapter 13: **_I Believe In You_

* * *

After finishing my dinner, I returned to the washroom to do battle with Sephiroth's clothes. His trench coat was leather and would have to be hand washed, but the rest could be thrown in the washing machine, and that's exactly what I did. 

Upon completing the task of riding his trench coat of dirt, I found myself cleaning his boots. They were absolutely caked in mud, not to mention marred with millions of scratches. The task proved to be more tedious that I'd first expected, and very time consuming. I did eventually finish though and I was quite proud of my achievement. They were almost as good as new…almost.

With a sigh of satisfaction I set the boots down neatly beside the couch and sought out the brush that I'd taken from the bathroom earlier. As I pulled the tangles through my hair, I sat quietly, staring blankly out the window. It would be at least another 3 hours till Cid and the others got here. That was a lot of time to waste with nothing much to do.

I stood up, my hair thoroughly brushed, and started up the stairs to my room. A cold draft met me in the door way and I realized that the window was still open from earlier. I walked casually across the room and took a moment to look outside. One more battle left, I thought. Funny how the first time we faced Jenova and Sephiroth I'd been terrified of the possible consequences, but not now. I felt confident now, I wasn't afraid of anything.

A smile crept onto my face and I shut the window, feeling another gust of cool air seize me. I turned around and my gaze drifted cautiously to the dust covered piano in the corner of my room. It seemed almost as if it were calling me, beckoning me to come. It'd been a while since I'd played and I had time to spare.

I crossed the room in three long strides and took a seat on the piano stool. My fingers ran lightly across the dusty surface of the piano cover before grabbing hold of the lower edge and lifting it up.

The black and white keys gleamed up at me, pleading to be played again. I hesitated briefly before slowly setting my hands down in position to play. The first song that came to mind happened to be a favorite of my mothers.

It didn't take me long to realize, as my fingers moved sluggishly from key to key, that I was horribly rusty. Every missed note caused me to wince, and I would have to restart. My patience was beginning to thin when finally I played through the entire song without a mistake. Now all I had to do was play it about twice as fast.

My hands were loosening up by now though and moved smoothly without error, making the music much more pleasant. It brought a smile to my face to hear the song that my mom used to play. She'd loved the piano and had always hoped that I'd take it up, which I obviously did.

A sigh escaped my lips as the tune ended and my hands slipped off the keys, and into my lap. If only I'd really dedicated myself, I might have been a famous pianist. There weren't many around, that was for sure and…it would have made my mother happy.

I shook my head sadly and stood up, nearly knocking the wooden stool over in the process. An odd sort of chill caressed my skin as I stumbled away from the instrument. My fingers sought out the small blanket that lay on the foot of my bed as I passed by on my way to the window. It offered very little comfort from the strange cold surrounding me though. Sometimes I wondered if it was just this house.

I'd have to live somewhere else, I decided in my mind. I had faced my fears for long enough.

My thoughts wandered to the other inhabitant in my house and I scowled slightly. What would we do after this? Would my plan even work? And if it doesn't, what then? I bit my lip in frustration, my teeth sinking in a little too hard and drawing a miniscule amount of blood.

"You shouldn't do that."

My heart skipped a beat and I spun around in terror, instinctively jumping back, only to drive my elbow into the windowsill. Immense pain followed afterwards and a short, muffled cry escaped my bleeding lips.

Sephiroth starting laughing at my clumsy folly, and barely had the composure to ask if I was all right.

His forced words offered little comfort and only brought out an angry glower from me, as I rubbed my aching elbow. "I'm fine, no thanks to you." I answered and mistakenly let my gaze fall to his muscular torso. My cheeks flushed red and I nearly collapsed right there, but my hand saved me from the fall as it caught the desk sitting near the window.

"What is the matter with you?" He asked, appearing baffled by my sudden lack of sense.

I chewed my lips vigorously and shifted my eyes to the floor in embarrassment. This was ridiculous! "N-nothing." I stammered and tried to look into his eyes again. Again, I blushed at the sight of his skin and I was forced to look elsewhere. Oh what I'd give to just melt into his arms right now.

"Oh." He stated suddenly, realization ringing in his voice.

I glared up at him in annoyance, having suddenly discovered my manners and sanity, at least for a moment. An arrogant smirk was plastered onto his face as he looked down at me, everything having become clear to him.

"Why do you do that?" He asked suddenly.

"Do what?" I echoed uncertainly.

"Blush every time you look at me." He answered, a flicker of a amusement shining clearly in his eyes.

My eyes narrowed instantly. "What sort of question is that? You know why!" I cried.

He grinned. "Do I?"

"You-you…you…snake!" I shouted.

"Snake?" He repeated with a chuckle. "It's a simple question, isn't it? Is it so hard to answer?"

"Because." I started while tracing the line of his six-pack with my index finger. "You're by far the most handsome man I've ever seen." I replied and looked away quickly. "Why else wouldn't I give you a shirt?" I added and giggled.

His hands closed around my wrists and pulled me against him. "Good."

A tingling sensation erupted through out my body as I rested my head against his chest. I eagerly welcomed the warmth and comfort of his skin as I rested in his arms, my eyes closing in a moment of peace. "I don't want to live here anymore." I said quietly. "I hate it here."

"We can live in my house." He replied quietly.

I looked up in surprise. "You have a house?"

He scowled. "Of course I do. Just because I worked for Shin-Ra doesn't mean I didn't have some free time, and I certainly had no intention of staying there on my off days. I had plenty of funds to buy my own place, isolated from the rest of the world and unknown to my employers."

"Unknown to your employers?" I repeated curiously.

His eyes narrowed. "Yes." He said dryly. "One has to be careful when working for slime like them. It was to ensure my privacy and the safety of my servants."

I frowned. "Servants?"

"They came to me asking for a job." He assured me. "Otherwise I wouldn't have had them at all. I prefer to live alone. They have probably left by now though. It has been quite a long time."

"I see. And what sort of house is this that can use the employment of servants?" I prodded, my eyes seeking out his.

"An old mansion from around 400 years ago." He answered.

My eyes widened. "A mansion? Where is it?"

Sephiroth eyed me suspiciously. "I don't know if you're trustworthy."

"Oh quit it!" I cried.

He chuckled softly. "It's on the edge of the sea up north, hidden by a forest that grows just beyond the beach." He replied. "I happened to come across it during one of my assignments."

For a moment I thought my heart had stopped. "That sounds wonderful." I breathed. "Is there a garden?"

He nodded. "Yes, there is a garden. I never did anything with it though since I've no interest in gardening, but one of my servants took care of it."

"What's it like?" I asked excitedly.

He frowned. "I don't know. I've never actually been inside it. The stonewall that encircles it prevents any view of the inside and the ivy trees prove to be a suitable persuasion from going in. I know that it's quite large though, since the wall seems to go forever."

A bright smile pulled at my lips and my eyes glistened dreamily as I tried to paint a picture of it in my mind. What more could I want? This was like a childhood dream come true! An old mansion by the sea with a garden out back, enclosed by a stone. "How could you not possibly go inside?"

"I never had time. You could almost say that the house really belonged to the servants since they were the ones who lived there. I myself spent most of my time in my quarters at Shin-Ra HQ." He explained. "I've never been a fan of flowers anyway."

My jaw dropped. "That's just wrong!" I exclaimed. "I love flowers!"

"Then you can have the garden." He answered. "It's all yours."

"But!" I protested. "It won't be as…romantic if you aren't there too."

His brow rose curiously. "Oh?"

"You'd come in sometimes, wouldn't you?" I asked hopefully.

He sighed. "Very well."

I grinned happily and threw my arms around his neck. "You're the best."

"I know." He answered smugly and kissed me lightly on the lips before I could reply. "You play the piano well, you know." He said, changing the subject.

"Thank you." I smiled shyly and hid my face in embarrassment. "I haven't played for a while though." I found myself lost in thought for a moment. "My mom used to play for me."

"Did she?" Sephiroth asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I miss hearing her play. After she died, I was the only one who ever used her piano. I like playing and all, but sometimes I wish she were here to play for me like she used to."

A long silenced passed as Sephiroth watched me curiously, his eyes giving nothing away as to what he was thinking.

"I'll play for you." He said suddenly.

My head snapped up in disbelief. "You play?" I gasped.

"A little, yes. It's been a while though." He answered. "Hojo had insisted that it was necessary to know music to improve my intelligence or something or other, which is how I ended up learning."

I took his hand eagerly and lead him to the piano, where he took a seat.

"What would you like me to play?" He asked.

My nose wrinkled thoughtfully. "I know!" I announced and began digging through a pile of old music. After a great deal of searching, I finally found the folder of my favorite pieces. I carefully pulled it out and handed it to him. "These are my favorite songs."

"Alright." He answered and opened the folder, taking the first piece off the top and setting it on the music stand.

As I listened to him start, I was practically waiting for him to make a mistake, not because I wanted him to, but because it had been years since he'd played. To my complete amazement he played it perfectly, without error, and the music was quite simply lovely.

He played it just as well as my mother did, if not better. I sat down on the bed and stretched my legs out, the music relaxing my muscles and mind. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the singing of the notes.

Never would I've thought Sephiroth played music, and what was even more astonishing was how good he was. He was very skilled in general though, far greater than the average human being do to Hojo's testing.

When the last piece of music was finished, Sephiroth stood up and set the cover down over the keys.

"You're very good." I commented. "Very, very good."

He turned and spared me a small smile. "Yes, I suppose so. There's nothing in this world that I cannot do better than all the rest."

I sighed and curled up into a ball. "Thank you for playing for me. It's been so long since I've heard those tunes." My eyelids drooped down over my eyes, threatening sleep.

"It was my pleasure." He said. "Tired?"

I nodded slowly and curled up beneath the covers. "A little."

"I'll be downstairs." He called on his way out.

The last thing I remember was hearing the door close with a click before falling asleep.

* * *

An hour later the insistent yelling of a high-pitched female startled me awake. My eyes shot open in astonishment, and there sat Yuffie on the edge of my bed, her eyes urgent and alert. 

"Finally!" She breathed. "You sleep like the dead!"

I sat up with a groan. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Yuffie scowled. "What do ya mean, what am I doing here?" She cried. "You called Cid, remember?"

"Yeah." I answered. "Has it really been that long?"

"Sephiroth said you've been sleeping for 3 hours." Yuffie replied and grabbed me by the wrist. "Come on, we gotta get going. Everyone is waiting for you."

I looked around in bewilderment. "Why?"

"Jenova!" Yuffie shouted and proceeded dragging me off the bed. "You better hurry up or else Seph's gonna come get you and that won't be pretty."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I growled.

Yuffie shuddered. "Dude, that guy's scary when you're not on time." She answered. "Besides, we've got to save the world again, remember? Seems like Reeve's little squads of soldiers got smeared all over the crater's floor."

My stomach churned uncomfortably as Yuffie's words formed a rather grotesque scene in my mind. "Thank you for that lovely description Yuffie." I mumbled. I attempted to separate Yuffie's hand from my wrist as she dragged me to the door. "Ok, I'm up. Let me get out a pair of boots real quick, my other ones are covered in mud."

"Hurry up then." Yuffie answered and jumped onto the bed.

I headed for my closet to get my extra pair of fighting boots, which I'd only worn once. These had steal toes like my old ones, but were all black and a little less clunky. I found them without very much looking thankfully and pulled them on. After putting them on I was surprised to find them quite comfortable. I had always been under the impression they were too small, but it had been 5 years. My memory was getting a little hazy I guess.

"Ready?" Yuffe inquired.

"Yep." I answered and headed out the door.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs I came to a halt before all of my friends, which were spread through out the living room. Half of them appeared to be sleeping on their feet. The other half were in deep conversation, or rather quarrel. Sephiroth, in full dress, and Barret had come to an obvious disagreement over something, and were not about to let it rest.

I froze still as I spotted Vincent standing on his own and sharing a quite word with Lucrecia in a dark corner of the room.

I gave Yuffie a questioning glance as she landed beside me with a loud thump.

"Oh, it was Chaos." Yuffie said in response to my puzzled look. "He needed a new host cause his old one was kinda dying or something, so he went back into Vincent and healed him."

"Healed him?" I echoed. "Chaos?"

Yuffie shrugged. "That demon's a little weird, you know? But he and Vincent seem to have some sort of strange bond, if that makes any sense. Scared the crap out of Barret and Nanaki though." She giggled. "They didn't know what to do when Chaos ran them down on their way here."

"Yo, took you two long enough." Barret bellowed.

We both whirled around, slightly startled by Barret's sudden outburst.

Nanaki stepped forward. "Are you ready to leave? We must make haste, I rather not take any chances."

I nodded in understanding. "I'm ready."

"Yeah, yeah." Yuffie shrugged.

"Good, let's get to the Highwind. We've a long night ahead of us." Nanaki replied and headed for the door with the others following at his heels.

As I started for the door I whirled around, realizing that my hair ribbon was still in the bathroom, and I hurried down the hall. To my relief it still lay on the sink with the small black materia wrapped inside it. I snatched it off the table and tied it around my hair before heading out.

Yuffie was waiting at the door when I emerged from the bathroom, her hands waving at me to hurry up.

"I'm coming." I assured her and the two of us hurried after the others.

Once on the ship I sought out Vincent and gave him a friendly hug.

Despite being slightly alarmed at first, he returned the gesture and gave me a polite greeting. "Hello Tifa."

"Hi." I grinned. "I'm glad to see that you're alright."

He nodded stoically. "I am too." He replied. "It's good to be back."

"What about Chaos?" I questioned.

"He sleeps." Vincent answered simply. "His energy was wasted healing me."

"I see." I said. So it was, as always, the end of our extremely short and blunt conversation. No matter how hard I tried, I simply could not lengthen our talks further. He was far too good at ending them. "Well, it looks like Nanaki is holding a meeting." I pointed out, as everyone was collecting together to converse in the center of the bridge. "We better go join them."

"Thank you Tifa." Vincent said suddenly. "For taking my son to his mother."

I smiled in surprise. "I was happy to do it." I answered and went to join the huddle.

* * *

A good hour had gone by since we'd all collected on the bridge and conversed over the current situation. Jenova was definitely lurking about in the crater according to Reeve, and we had no time to waste. Our coarse was set for the Northern Crater, a good days flight from Nibelheim. We'd have to fly through the night and into morning before reaching our destination, which meant sleeping on the Highwind. 

The majority of us were too tired to care where they slept, but Yuffie was a bit more hostile about it. Barret suggested that Cid install personal sleeping quarters for each of us after this was over for future use. It wasn't a bad idea, but the chances of us needing the Highwind again were pretty low, at least we hoped they were.

After being forced to listen to Cid and Barret complain about how old they were getting, I found sanctuary in the chocobo stables where Blade was. He was just as tired as anyone else, having ridden for most of the day, carrying both Sephiroth and myself.

I gave him a pat on the chest and kissed his beak. His eyes closed peacefully as he curled up on his straw bed. Well, at least he was tired enough to sleep, I thought. My 3 hour nap seemed to have restored me to the point where trying to sleep on a ship with no mattress was impossible. I'd have to be exhausted to sleep in these conditions, and that I was not.

I opened the door and slipped out of the stall, only to run into Barret. "Oh, hello!" I said cheerily.

"Hey, just who I was lookin for." Barret said.

"Really?" I asked in surprise. "What is it?"

Barret scratched the back of his head nervously and let out a heavy sigh. "I wanna talk to you bout somethin."

My brows knitted in confusion. "Oh, ok then."

"Ya know, ever since I met you in Midgar I sorda took ya under my wing, if ya know what mean?" He started.

I nodded in understanding. "Go on."

"I know I ain't yer father, but me an' Cid have done our best ta fill in and watch over you." He stated gruffly, his hands rubbing together as he spoke. "Now, we all be playin around with what's been goin on between you and Sephiroth, but I'm serious now."

"Oh." I stated bluntly and bit my lip. "That."

"Yeah." Barret answered. "That. Ya know, I've been tryin to figure out just what to think about all this an' I honestly don't know. I was so prepared ta hate him, but for some reason I don't."

I sucked in a quick, hopeful breath. "Why not?"

Barret sighed. "I dunno. Every time I see him, he looks so damn lost an'… almost afraid. Like he ain't know his head from his ass any more. It just don't seem like the Sephiroth we knew."

I giggled softly. "I see."

"But, I have a bit a respect for him too." Barret added. "I ain't never thought he'd have the guts to approach me an' Cid like he did yesterday. We was so surprised, we couldn't say nothin at first."

"What do you mean he approached you? About what?" I asked.

"He asked me an' Cid, as yer friends and guardians, if he could marry you." Barret replied bluntly.

I nearly collapsed due to the overwhelming astonishment and surprise that consumed me. "He didn't!" I gasped, finding the thought impossible and unthinkable, but never the less, wonderful.

"Damn right he did, and me bein the fool I am was thinking o sayin no." He said gruffly. "But, didn't take long ta get my head straight. Ain't never woulda believed he'd care bout what we thought. He's always been an arrogant sort, but he proved somethen then and it made me think, maybe he's not so bad. Ya can tell he thinks about da past and I really think dat he regrets it." Barret took a breath and cleared his throat. "I just got one question an' it probably ain't necessary, but I'm gonna ask for the sake of askin."

"Alright." I answered. "Ask away."

Barret turned to face me and took my shoulders in his hands. "Ya know, I always thought that stinkin foo Cloud wasn't good enough for you. I don't wanna see you unhappy, ya been lost fer far too long." He said. "Alls Cid and I want to know is, does he make you happy?"

"He makes me very happy." I replied and smiled.

Barret grinned. "Good then. Guess dat means we gotta go tell him that now."

In the next instant I was engulfed in a giant bear hug that came perilously close to crushing my ribcage. I ignored the fact that I couldn't breath and embraced my friend happily.

Upon finally being released I was able to catch my breath again.

"Well, then, I best get some sleepin time if I'm gonna fight tomorrow." Barret said quickly and turned to go.

He'd never been good at things like this. It was a little too personal for his tastes and too…mushy as he would put it. Still, every once and a while Barret would show the softer side of him, like now.

"Oh, and don't ya go tellin him what I just told you, ok?" He added.

I smiled. "I won't! And…thank you."

Barret smiled through his beard. "No problem, that's what we friends are here for. Ya better get some sleep yourself now."

"I will. Night!" I shouted as he left, my hand waving frantically. The moment he disappeared I twirled around in my excitement and nearly fell over. I felt this sudden, overwhelming urge to laugh out loud and never stop. How could I ever sleep like this?

After I'd thoroughly wasted all of my energy on dancing around like a lovesick child, I finally decided to head back to the bridge and try to sleep. I strained my ears to the distant sound of murmuring voices as I stepped inside. Then I noticed Sephiroth and his mother standing at the very front of the bridge with Vincent a few feet away.

Rather then make myself known I tip toed inside and made my way to the blanket pile, being careful not to trip over the sleeping lump in the middle of the floor, at the same time. Of course, Sephiroth noticed immediately that I was there and gave me a short nod before returning to the conversation with his mother. I pulled a blanket and pillow out of the pile and searched for a place to sleep.

A descent looking corner caught my attention and I started off in that direction. As I made my way there I looked about me, noticing several sleeping bodies, Barret being one of them. Nanaki was out like a light and Yuffie, I came to realize, was the person sacked out in the middle of the floor. Cait Sith was sitting motionlessly beside the door, and Cid was mumbling curses under his breath as he rolled back and forth trying, without success, to find a comfortable sleeping position.

I smirked and flopped down in my corner. For quite some time I just sat there, leaning against my pillow, listening to the soft droning of voices. The sound was almost mesmerizing and eventually it put me to sleep, for a short while at least.

When I awoke an hour or so later, I lifted my head to find Sephiroth leaning idly against the railing at the front. His eyes seemed preoccupied with something, and from the look on his face it wasn't pleasant. I got up soundlessly, letting the warm comfort of my blanket fall to the floor as I crept over to where he stood. A twinge of worry hung in the back of my mind when he made no acknowledgement of my approach. That was simply not Sephiroth like. He always knew when someone was creeping up behind him.

He didn't even turn when I placed my hands on the railing beside him. I tilted my head, studying his face closely and noticing the obvious distress that resided in his usually calm features.

Something closely resembling terror reflected in his eyes for a moment. The emotion was so strong and disturbing, coming from one such as him, that I physically jumped and my grip on the railing tightened.

His gaze turned sharply to me and immediately softened. "Tifa, you should be asleep." He said quietly and quickly turned away.

"You should be too." I answered and brushed aside a lock of silver hair that hid his left eye. He looked run down and exhausted. "Sephiroth, what is the matter?" I asked, noticing that he was shaking.

"N-nothing." He answered sharply and turned away abruptly.

"Liar." I accused ruefully. "You look like you're barely standing, why?"

Sephiroth let out a long, distressful sigh. "Jenova gives me no rest. Her presence continues to linger in the back of my mind enforcing her will upon me. I grow more tired with each hour, but I cannot rest for she is always there. The moment I close my eyes I feel her voice bellowing inside my head."

"I'm sorry." I whispered. "Is there anything that I can do?"

"No." He answered gruffly. "Go to sleep."

"But-" My voice was cut off as Sephiroth suddenly began to collapse. I threw my arms out and tried to support him the best I could, but his weight brought us both to the floor. "Sephiroth!" I gasped as he slumped to the floor, his eyes closed.

I waited for a reply, but none came. His body trembled violently as I cradled him in my arms, begging that he wake up. Fear clenched at my heart as I witnessed his expression twist into pain. "No." I whispered lamely. "This can't happen."

Minutes passed and still Sephiroth remained in his trance like state. Sweat dribbled blanketed his forehead, his muscles were completely flexed, and a grimace was etched permanently on his face. The trembling was worsening.

_He was losing…_

The thought hit me harshly and brought me back to my senses. I tightened my grip and brought my lips to his ear. "I love you, Sephiroth" The words were barely a whisper, but I put all of my heart and soul into them as they left my lips. "And I believe in you. So please, please come back." I clutched at the collar of his over coat desperately, tears streaking down my face. Would this ever end?

My eyes closed tightly, as once again his body shuddered in pain. There was nothing else that I could do but hope. By now my own body trembled with his, and tears soaked my clothes. I couldn't think or speak. I was paralyzed by fear and angry with myself for not being able to help.

The shivering suddenly stopped and his breathing softened to the point where it was barely detectable. The next 5 minutes felt like an eternity as I looked down at him, waiting for the worst. What if he woke up as Jenova and killed me?

I nearly suffered a heart attack when my ears detected a groan that I knew had not come from me. I held my breath as Sephiroth shifted in my arms and grasped my wrist in his hand.

"Tifa." He forced my name with great effort and attempted to sit up on his own.

His voice was pure relief to my ears, and threw my self into his arms. "I'm so glad you're ok."

Sephiroth let out a strangled cry and his eyes opened wide. "Careful!" He growled. "I'm in a bit of pain right now if you hadn't noticed."

"Oh!" I exclaimed and let him go. "I'm so sorry, it just I-I was really worried!"

He gazed at my face curiously and lifted a hand to wipe away the tears that still streamed down my face. "You were crying." He stated softly, his voice etched with sadness. "I heard your voice while battling with Jenova."

I took a deep breath and tried to speak through my tears. "I was afraid that I'd lose you. I didn't know what else to do."

Sephiroth placed his hand on the side of my face and kissed me gently. "You don't have to cry anymore. I'm alright, thanks to you." He said quietly.

"But I can't help it." I sobbed happily and buried my face in his hair.

He chuckled. "All right then. But I do wish you'd stop in the near future. You're soaking my clothes."

"Oh." I stated blankly. I lifted my head immediately and started to frantically wipe the tears away. "I'm sorry."

He smirked and intercepted my hand. "That isn't necessary. You can cry all you want if you must."

"N-no, I'm finished I-I think." I said. "I'm kind of tired though."

"I wouldn't mind sleeping myself." He said groggily and grimaced as he shifted in my lap. Without another word he rested his head against my shoulder and closed his eyes.

I gently kissed his hair and laced my fingers through his. "Goodnight."

Sephiroth mumbled something in return, but I couldn't understand a word of it for he was already asleep. He must have set a record, he'd only closed his eyes 10 seconds ago and he was already completely out of it.

I wondered briefly if I'd be able to feel my legs in the morning, being that Sephiroth was currently cutting off my circulation, but I was far too tired to give it much thought. Tomorrow was a big day and I had to get as much rest as possible.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: You've probably all realized by now that I love author's notes for some reason. Oh well, I like to communicate. Anyway, another chapter finally finished. I'm really sorry…again…for taking so long to get this out. I'm hoping that the next two will come much quicker, but I can't make any guarantees. So, is it any good? Drums fingernails against keyboard nervously Anyone there? 

Oh, and I've had several people mention my hideous punctuation in earlier chapters, and I appreciate your comments. After going back and looking over the first few chapters I've come to realize that my punctuation was definitely bad. I just wanted to let those of you who brought it to my attention know that I took it to heart. I'd also like to thank all of you who have been sending me e-mails - I love hearing from everyone.


	14. Chapter 14: The Final Showdown

**Chapter 14: **_The Final Showdown_

**Note: **Special thanks to Angelheart for the awesome review! (I'd like to thank you a billion times!)

* * *

The gentle call of a pleasant voice slowly pulled me back into reality and away from my dreams. I opened my eyes with caution and smiled brightly as I recognized Sephiroth's mako-green eyes staring back at me. "Hello." I said quietly. 

"We're almost there." He said and offered me a hand up.

A chilly gust of wind hit me as Sephiroth pulled me to my feet. My eyes widened momentarily and I suddenly found myself clinging to him in search of warmth. The same as I remembered this place to be; cold and foreboding, I thought miserably.

Sephiroth scowled. "You should have brought proper clothing." He scolded me. "You're going to freeze down there."

I hopped out of his grasp immediately. "I'm perfectly fine!" I retorted as goose bumps formed on my skin and another chill ran up my spine. Ok, so I was a little cold, I'd survive! "I hate this place." I muttered softly and walked up to the railing to take a look.

The moment I set eyes on that ghastly crater I felt all of my fears return in full force. I swallowed hard and gazed at the black hole that seemed to go on endlessly. Not a shimmer of color existed here, not even the sky held any joy. Clouds blanketed the ceiling of earth on this day.

I licked my lips uncertainly and gripped the railing tighter. A terrible, frightening feeling hung in the air. I could feel it touching me, as if Jenova herself was floating in our midst. She was beckoning us, calling us forward to face her.

My courage left me for an instant and all I wanted to do was run, run for my life. Jenova had a way of doing that to you. Something about here put fear into the heart of even the bravest of men.

I took a step away and closed my eyes in silent prayer, hoping that everyone would come out of this safely. It was the most wonderful thing being a hero to the world. So wonderful that I forgot how afraid I was when we first came here. And to think that just yesterday I felt invincible… How wrong I was.

"I hate this place too." Sephiroth said quietly, his presence suddenly beside me.

My eyes opened upon hearing his voice and I sighed. "It's always so cold here." I murmured. "Even in the summer it's cold. It's not just the weather either. The air seems bitter and cruel."

"Yes." He replied. "I know that feeling."

His hand slipped around mine suddenly and I turned my head to look at him in surprise. His gaze was warm and comforting, and brought a smile to my face. "Thank you." I said and laced my fingers through his.

He nodded silently and placed a soft kiss on my hand. "You have nothing to fear. All will be well when this is over." He assured me, a hint of a shy smile on his lips.

"Yo, you two! We've got work to do, remember?" Came Cid's bellowing voice from behind us.

I blushed and spun around in surprise. "Cid!" I squeaked.

"What?" He asked while puffing on a cigarette.

"I-I didn't know you were awake yet." I stammered.

"Well, now you do." He replied. "We gotta get the rest of these loafs up now." Cid was already moving across the room to wake up Barret and 'incidentally' kicked the lump in the middle of the floor.

"You stupid old fart!" Yuffie cried out in rage. A slender leg shot out from under the blanket and kicked Cid in the shin as he tried to escape.

"Shit!" Cid cursed. "&# #$&&#$!"

"Holy shit, what was that!" Barret shouted with a start as he jumped to his feet, ready and alert. I'd never seen Barret wake up so fast in my life.

"You stinkin brat!" Cid cried as he hopped about on one leg while clenching the other in his hands.

"What the hell?" Barret growled.

Sephiroth glowered at the scene before him. "Don't ask." He said curtly and cleared his throat. "Enough playing around, we've got work to do."

Yuffie's head peaked out from beneath the blanket and made a face.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" Cid grumbled and limped back to the controls of the ship. "Is everybody up yet?"

"Sort of." Yuffie sighed and sat up.

"It seems so." Nanaki yawned and shook out the kinks in his back. "Cait Sith went to get some extra supplies from the storage room and some food incase anyone's hungry."

Yuffie literally turned green when the word 'food' was brought to attention. A loud 'erp' escaped her throat and the next instant she was in a mad rush to the railing. I cringed at the vile sound that followed as she threw up over the side.

"Hey!" Cid shouted. "What they hell are you doing? You better not be pukin on my ship! I'll make you clean the whole damn thing if I even so much as smell something funny."

Yuffie gave him the finger and remained hunched over the railing.

I sighed and shook my head. Well, at least they seemed to be in somewhat high spirits, I thought.

There was clearly a nervous edge in the atmosphere though. I could tell that easily after 5 minutes of watching my friends' behavior. Cid was already starting on a second cigarette. He hadn't smoked two cigarettes in one day since 5 years ago when Shera insisted that he cut back because of her pregnancy.

Barret was constantly fidgeting, whether it was with his gun arm or just moving his feet about. Nanaki was pacing in the corner while trying to hold a polite conversation with Lucrecia, who'd just woken up. Vincent was the only person who seemed completely calm, but then again, Vincent always appeared calm, even when a 10-foot dragon loomed above him, preparing for a barbeque. That was just how Vincent was.

This was going to be a very long day…

* * *

After forcing down a short breakfast of what looked like something from outer space, we had a quick meeting over our strategy. It was decided that Vincent and Lucrecia would stay at the landing area to make sure everything was ready when it was time to leave. Lucrecia couldn't fight anyway and Vincent pressured heavily on staying behind with her. 

I jumped off the ladder and landed smoothly on the surface below. The air smelt oddly fresh here, but it was icy and cold. Sephiroth was able to muster up a jacket for me though, luckily for me.

As I waited for Barret, Yuffie and Cait Sith, the last three of the group, I examined my surroundings. There wasn't much to see and it looked as if everything was the same as before, with the exception of a strange gooey liquid that resembled mako covering just about everything. The path that we'd taken 5 years ago on our journey to the bottom and been thoroughly destroyed when a portion of the crater collapsed.

"Aww man, I hate this place." Yuffie whined as she landed gracefully onto the rock floor.

"Ain't none of us exactly love it here, ya know." Barret answered gruffly. "I was hopin I'd never have ta see dis place again."

"I'll second that. We ready to get this show on the road?" Cid asked grumpily, eyeing Sephiroth expectedly.

"Of course." Sephirpth replied. "We mustn't waste anymore time."

The path ahead would be a long, treacherous ride to the bottom. That was quite clear the moment I took my first step and nearly did a two and a half gainer. I landed with a yelp on the ground and cringed as a rock stabbed me in the thigh. "Stupid damn slime!" I cursed and slowly got to my feet.

"Are you alright?" Sephiroth asked, his gaze landing on the trickle of blood traveling down my leg from the small stab wound.

I forced a smile. "Just a scratch. I'll be fine."

He nodded slowly, a glimmer of doubt in his eyes. "Everyone, be careful. It's slippery and I'd rather you not break your neck before we face Jenova."

Cid snorted in response. "Nice to know you care." He muttered sarcastically.

Sephiroth paid no heed to Cid's crude comment and continued down the path.

It wasn't long before the majority of us were falling behind the General. How he managed to move so fast, even in circumstances such as this when every step you take must be taken with utmost caution, I don't know.

"Hey, wait up!" Yuffie cried from the near back of the line.

A body slammed into me from behind and I nearly lost my balance. "Yuffie!" I groaned. "You're not small anymore, no body slamming!"

"Oops." She giggled and took her place walking beside me. "I sort of lost control for a second there."

"I noticed." I said flatly.

Up ahead of us Sephiroth came to a stop to wait for us 'stragglers'.

As we approached I noticed the path taking on an alarmingly steep drop up ahead. The kind of steep that could quite possible require a rope and pitons, and I knew very well that we didn't have any of those.

Yuffie's eyes widened as we came to a stop at the edge. "Holy crap, we're so not going down there!"

"Oh, but we are." Sephiroth responded.

Nanaki padded up to where Sephiroth stood, his snout wrinkling in a disapproving manner. "Are you sure about this?" He said slowly, carefully scanning the area. "You know that this could very well kill us all?"

"I think you can handle it." Sephiroth replied and started his gradual decent.

I nibbled my lip nervously before carefully following after him.

It was a long, grueling voyage to the bottom and Holy knows how we made it without killing ourselves, but we did and we were all in one piece thankfully. After a quick rest to regain our strength and composer, we were off again to travel the countless caverns of crater in search of Jenova.

With each step I could feel Jenova's presence getting closer. The air smelt rank and weighed heavily upon our shoulders as we pushed onward, doing our best to avoid the preying eyes that glowed in the shadows.

We met little hostility on our way though, despite the constant feeling of being watched. At first I was prone to thinking luck was with us, but as we met less and less monsters I began to think differently. In fact, it was starting to make me nervous.

I don't think I've ever been relieved to be attacked by a salivating creature with four eyes and six legs, but I was today. So exuberant was I that I charged straight into battle without a second thought, and nearly got myself severely injured in the process. I received a stern glare from Sephiroth after barely evading a devastating attack. That was not one of my best decisions I admit, but I recovered quickly and got into position with the others.

Sephiroth, Cid and myself took up the front line while Nanaki and Cait Sith stood back a few feet. Yuffie and Barret fired away from afar. The battle was over in 5 minutes with only a few minor injuries.

Not 7 yards later another beast leapt out from the shadows grinning at us through hungry eyes, a long forked tongue escaping its pale blew lips.

"You stupid shit!" Cid snapped, glaring at the creature in an appalled manner, as it had happened to have land in front of him. He lashed out quickly with his spear and made a deep gash in the creatures shoulder. He, however, was too slow on the recovery and the beast responded with a harsh blow from its tail, sending Cid flying through the air and into Sephiroth. They both went tumbling across the ground upon impact, and it was up to the others and myself to deal with the menace at hand.

Nanaki used his speed to his advantage and managed to circle around and catch the monster from behind while Barret and Yuffie kept him occupied. As Nanaki mad his presence known with a savage attack from behind, the monster whirled around, leaving his back to me. I took my chance while I had it and went for its weakest part, which after studying the creature, I decided was the neck. I jumped onto its back and led with a series of punches followed by a quick, hard roundhouse kick. A satisfying crunch followed and I grinned as the creature slumped to the ground.

"Woohoo, nice one!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"#&# &!" Cid's voice echoed loudly, even over Yuffie's exuberant cries of victory.

All attention was turned to the blonde man who was currently staggering lamely across the ground with Sephiroth supporting him reluctantly. Cid gave him a sidelong glance and yanked his arm away roughly.

"Get yer paws off me." He growled lowly and bent down to pick up his spear.

"Are you ok?" I asked with concern and brought out a cure materia just in case.

Cid frowned. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shakin up that's all."

Sephiroth sighed and crossed his arm impatiently. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

"Damn ass hole has never heard of a #&( rest before." Cid muttered as we started off again.

* * *

I was beginning to see why there were so few opposing creatures before. They were all waiting for us at the core. It was a full two hours of hard battling before we actually had time to rest our tired bodies. Sephiroth was reluctant to let us sit for only a few minutes, but after a rather colorful argument with Yuffie he gave up trying and sat down himself, probably to recover from the recent interlude with the hotheaded ninja.

The girl had a sharp tongue and she knew how to use it pretty well too. It amazed me just how much she had changed, and I wondered how on earth I hadn't noticed before.

"Tifa! Yo, quit day dreamin. It's time to roll!" Barret called.

I snapped to attention and hurried to catch up as everyone was on the move again and leaving me behind.

We rounded the next bend and the trail emptied abruptly into an enormous cavern. Somewhere up ahead was a hole and in it rested the lifestream, for I could see its tender glow from the entrance as it illuminated the cavern.

Everyone halted.

The soft scurrying of a small rodent startled Yuffie into a panic and she fired her conformer upon the poor, defenseless creature with extreme precision.

I cringed as the animal was mutilated by the deadly weapon, and turned away from the grotesque mess.

"Way to go, you savagely murdered a helpless rat." Cid grinned.

Yuffie whipped around edgily. "Shut up! How was I supposed to know it was just a rat? It could have been an ugly, 8 foot tall thingy with 1000 eyes and blood dripping from sharp fangs and fleshy bits stuck between them."

"What a vivid imagination." Cait Sith commented.

"Far too vivid." Nanaki added. "Come on, let's take a look around."

We investigated the cavern for at least an hour and discovered very little, save for the remaining pieces of Reeve's soldiers. That was a picture that I didn't want to envision again.

"What the #&$!" Cid cursed. "Where the hell is-"

The ground gave a very sudden, violent lurch, cutting Cid off in mid-sentence, and throwing me to the ground. Bits of ceiling began to fall here and there. One rather large chunk landed only 2 feet away from me, startling my eyes to sizes larger than normal and an instant later Sephiroth was dragging me to my feet.

Then it stopped.

I looked around me alertly, making sure that my friends had all gotten up safely. Everyone appeared to be fine to my relief, but something in the air was making my hair stand on end.

A loud, angry shriek split the air and the ground gave another shudder, this one far less pungent than the last. The gaping hole that contained the lifestream groaned as a large, figureless thing rose up from its depths.

A moment of completely silence followed. Whether the silence was out of fear or out of speechlessness in our failing attempts to figure out what exactly the blob hovering before us actually was, is hard to say.

"Aw for crying out loud, what the #$ is that?" Cid moaned, his face shifting into an almost pleading look.

"I seem to remember this happening last time." Nanak scowled. "But really Cid, now is not the time to be worrying about such pointless things."

"Look at it! She's transformed from one blob into another!" Cid cried, shoving his finger in Jenova's direction. "It's a wonder how you people keep a straight face. If she wasn't trying to kill us, you'd be laughing yer hind ends off."

I couldn't blame him. It was an old pilot's attempt at bringing some joy to the faces of friends when facing what could be our last hour. Jenova was rather odd looking though, too. One wonders how she managed to function properly with her body parts in such disarray.

"Fools!" Jenova's voice shook the walls of the cave.

"I think ya pissed her off." Barret said. "She don't look so happy."

"You'll pay dearly for your stupidity, insects!" Jenova exclaimed. "You." She hissed, her attention suddenly drawn to the silver haired man at my left. "Silly boy. What are you doing over there? It's by me where you should be."

His eyes clouded over with fury and he unsheathed his sword.

"You're going to fight me? Your own mother?" She asked, a chilly sarcasm in her voice.

Sephiroth let out a harsh laugh. "You're no mother to me." He growled. "Quit wasting my time with these foolish games of yours."

"Very well then. Soon you will learn your own folly and beg for me to forgive you." She replied and a tentacle shot out, catching Nanakie in the body. The blow threw him through the air and into a bolder. My heart stopped as he crumpled to the floor broken and in pain.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" Yuffie cried and raced to his side.

Suddenly the entire room was lit up with gunfire, swords, spells and whatever else you can think of. Not to mention flying bodies, I noticed, as a stuffed mog and a very pissed of Cid got caught in a back slash of one of Jenova's attacks and went soaring across the cave.

I kept an eye on the two to make sure that they both got up while I myself tried to avoid suffering the same fate. So far I was on a good run, but I wasn't doing much. It was near impossible for me to get in close enough to her to do damage, which left me with only one option and truth be told, it wasn't a bad one. Knights of the Round would definitely do the trick, I thought happily.

My heart sank into my shoes several minutes later when to my utter disappointment Jenova didn't die. In fact, she looked hardly fazed by the devastating summon, which was very unusual and extremely alarming.

What was even more dismaying was she began to laugh. My eyes widened in horror as I noticed too late the incoming tentacle as it slammed me in the stomach and backwards into the air. Several thoughts raced through my head in that instant, the dominating one being 'this is going to hurt like hell', but to my surprise someone caught me from behind and lessened the pain of the landing.

As I got up and turned to see whom my rescuer was, I found myself smiling widely at Vincent Valentine. "Vincent! Thank Holy you're here!" I gasped and helped him to his feet.

"Lucrecia convinced me to go. I should have come with you in the first place." He answered. "Let's go help the others."

I nodded and followed him back into the battle, which from the looks of it had not gotten anywhere.

"Yo, we need a plan and damn quick!" Barret growled just before being caught by one of Jenova's spells.

I cringed as he hit the ground, and I immediately cast cure 3 on him to make up for the damages.

"No shit!" Cid yelled and went rolling across the ground, just missing another blow from Jenova. "Where the hell are Yuffie and Nanaki?"

"We're coming!" Yuffie cried from behind us.

Seconds later her Conformer shot past me and imbedded itself in what I'm guessing was Jenova's neck.

"Hey, wait a second!" Yuffie yelled. "Give that back!"

After a great deal of strategizing and a lot of help from Vincent and Nanakie, Yuffie was able the retrieve her Conformer without much injury while the rest of us gave Jenova a beating.

The battle raged on, yet no one would yield.

Jenova fired another spell and caught Sephiroth off guard, as he was about to attack, knocking him silly. He got to his feet instantly and glared up at her with malice. Flames burned in his eyes as he strode back into the battle.

I'd never seen him so angry in my life, nor so focused. Apparently he didn't take lightly to being knocked around and he was coming for his revenge.

Whilst Jenova struggled against the unfaltering barrage of attacks by the rest of us, Sephiroth went for the kill. He let loose his limit break once he was close enough and brought Jenova to her knees. It appeared that the fight might finally be over.

When he was finished she slumped to the ground, blood oozing form countless wounds in her flesh. "No!" She shouted. "You will never defeat me!"

I caught my breath as she began to transform again, shrinking until she'd taken the form of a woman with long, silver hair and the blackest of eyes. Even Sephiroth, who was now standing beside me, gasped in horror. Somehow, now that she was in the human form, she seemed even more ghastly for she was beautiful. She was gorgeously beautiful, yet terrible and sickening at the same time.

"Congratulations." She said sourly, her jaw set firmly as she took an elegant step forward. "You were the first to get this far…and no doubt the last." Her harsh gaze landed on Sephiroth. "It's a pity that you should have to die too, I kind of liked you. But…your lack of intelligence seems to have…" Her gaze drifted to me. "Led you astray."

I wanted to pommel her into the ground right then and there. My fists were aching with the desire to be planted into her pretty face. Sephiroth held me back with a stern arm though, knowing all to well what would happen if I tried something so foolish.

Jenova chuckled. "Isn't that cute." She mused as she glanced back and forth between us.

"Hey, I hate to break this happy time and all, but we got business with you." Cid growled. "And it doesn't involved chatten!"

Jenova scowled. "Very well. I suppose you're right." She sighed.

There was no time to react to the sudden twisting ball of energy hurling towards us. It hit me with a truly enormous force and tossed me backwards several feet. I landed hard, my life almost completely drained by the furious blow. Somehow I managed to get to my knees and it nearly killed me I think. The others looked no better than I did, except for Sephiroth. Though he kneeled, he was still in the same spot he'd been standing. The spell had not caused him near as much damage as it had caused the rest of us.

"This is ridiculous!" Jenova cried in anger. "Why won't you idiots just die!" She went for another spell.

Time seemed to freeze for an instant. It occurred to me right than that this could be the last breath I would ever take. The fear that held me still right then was almost unbearable, until I saw Sephiroth move and felt hope return. With inhuman speed Sephiroth jumped to his feet and drove his sword through Jenova's chest.

Jenova punched Sephiroth in response, knocking him back several feet. "This is impossible! There's no way you can stop me!" She shrieked.

Speaking of someone who wouldn't just die, I thought. I was beginning to think that maybe we would die here when, to my utmost bewilderment, a red and black mist surrounded formed around the others and me. I could feel my life being restored as it drifted through by body and on towards the now cowering Jenova.

She looked up and for the first time there was fear in her eyes. "No." She whispered in horror. "It can't be! Only the Cetra could do this!" An ear-piercing scream shattered the air as she was engulfed by the strange mist and turned to stone before our eyes. A loud grown sounded out from the stone encasing as the seal was completed.

The cavern was silent for the next five minutes, save for the shifting of pebbles beneath someone's feet now and then. Several minutes passed before anyone spoke.

It was overwhelming, the feat that we'd just accomplished. Everything seemed to be going down hill at the end when suddenly a miracle presented itself and saved humanity once again. Amazing…

"So it is over." Vincent stated simply. "She has been sealed."

"Yeah…but how?" Barret asked.

"The black materia." Sephiroth answered.

"Speaking of which, isn't there supposed to be another half somewhere?" Cid inquired curiously. "We never found it, remember?"

Nanaki frowned. "That's correct, but my instincts tell me that this couldn't have been done without the other piece."

"What the hell do you mean your 'instincts' tell you?" Cid growled and started looking around suspiciously. "Alright, who's got it?"

Everyone's gaze fell on Sephiroth, who appeared completely bewildered and very annoyed by the fact that everyone was automatically assuming that it was he who had it.

He scowled. "It is not I who has it."

"Oh yeah?" Cid challenged. "How do we know that?"

"Because…she's got it." Sephiroth replied, his finger pointing directly at Yuffie.

There was a turn of heads and now Yuffie had become the center of attention.

"Traitor!" Yuffie cried lividly in Sephiroth's face. "You bastard! I'll get you for this! Somehow I'll get you for this!"

"Yuffie?" I stared her blankly in disbelief.

Yuffie's cheeks were on fire and her toes were literally digging holes in the stone. The glamorous smile she wore as a disguise did no good to dissuade us and the expression fell rather quickly. "Umm, well…you see…ah…"

"Out with it!" Sephiroth snapped.

"Alright, alright. Don't get you boxers in a bunch." Yuffie muttered. "Yeah, I have it."

"I should have known." Cid accused and tossed his arms into the air. "The sneaky, no good, materia thief has had it this whole entire time and never said a damn word! Ooo, you better run maggot because when I catch you you'll wish you were rotting in the fiery bowls of hell!"

"Wait!" I cried in vain as Yuffie sprinted off for the entrance with Cid right on her heels. I smiled suddenly. "You know, I never knew Cid could run that fast."

Nanaki chuckled beside me. "Yes, he seems to be moving at quite a good clip."

"Ya know, it ain't so suprisen now that I think about it." Barret commented. "We all know how she is about materia and all."

"So, does this mean it's all over?" Cait asked curiously.

"I guess." I answered and looked over to find Sephiroth standing by the sealed Jenova, glowering at his sword that happened to have also been sealed with her. He took hold of the handle then and yanked it out of its stone encasing. The hole in which the sword rested sealed up as soon as the blade was removed.

He sheathed his sword and spun swiftly on his heel. "You didn't think I was actually going to leave it did you?" He asked.

"Of course not." I answered and smiled knowingly. "Come on, let's go find those two before they get themselves killed."

"Cid maybe, but Yuffie?" Sephiroth queried. "I doubt she'd be a serious loss to civilization."

"Sephiroth!" I gasped. "That was wrong and you know it!"

"I dunno Tif, I'm thinken of siden with Seph on this one." Barret drew in and grinned.

My expression hardened in reprimand. "Oh screw it, I'm not even going to bother with the both of you." I groaned.

Sephiroth chuckled. "Alright, let's go."

We didn't get far before stumbling across the crazed pair as they wrestled across the cavern floor. Instead of breaking it up and getting bruised in the process, we sat back and watched, waiting for the out come.

Eventually Cid was able the throw the raving and screaming Yuffie over his shoulder. "I got the little squirt." He said proudly, with a genuine smile marking his face.

"Let me down!" Yuffie cried in vain and commenced beating on his shoulders with her fists.

"Hey, that feels pretty good, but you might wanna try a little lower." Cid commented.

Yuffie let out a strangled growl of fury and elbowed him sharply between the shoulder blades.

Several colorful curses poured from his mouth as he instinctively dropped the squirming Yuffie, letting her fall head first toward the ground. Her ninja skills saved her from the face plant though and she was able to land on her feet.

"I'll kick your butt next time!" Yuffie growled and threw a few threatening punches in his direction.

Nanaki came forward and looked Yuffie in the eyes. "Where is the second half of the black materia?"

Her gaze danced around a bit before her shoulders slumped forward in sudden defeat. "This is stupid! I found it damn it! I should be able to keep it!" She moaned in protest.

"Yuffie." Nanaki repeated sternly.

She shoved her hand into a pouch and pulled out the small orb. "Here. Take it!" She snapped and threw it onto the floor.

Nanaki jumped back in surprise as a spark flew through the air. "What on earth?" He echoed confusedly and took a cautious step forward.

Another spark jumped from the tiny orb.

"Something is happening." Nanaki said, his gaze examining the small orb carefully.

I walked up beside him for a closer look and felt my hair suddenly come lose of the ribbon. I spun around in panic and noticed that other half of the black materia had fallen out of the ribbon, or rather burnt through it. "Umm…Nanaki? The other piece just burnt through my hair ribbon."

As Nanaki and the others crowded around to observe the other piece, the two orbs rose into the air above us.

"Hey!" Yuffie cried. "That's mine! What the hell! Get back here!" She lunged into the air and tried to grab the orb, but it was out of her reach.

"Fascinating!" Nanaki breathed. "They are coming together once again!"

A brilliant flash of white light filled the entire room as the two orbs came together, the light blinding us momentarily. When it receded, the black materia fell to the ground, now back in its original form.

Yuffie's eyes brightened and she dove for the black sphere, only to be pulled back by Sephiroth.

"Damn you!" She shouted. "This isn't fair!'

I stooped down and picked up the orb. It rested easily in my hand, its smooth and unmarred surface as black as onyx now. "Well, what do we do now?" I asked. "We certainly can't leave it here when it's so dangerous."

Nanaki sighed. "Hide it somewhere." He answered. "Its power is far too great, it cannot fall into the wrong hands."

"Hey!" Yuffie said sharply. "I resent that!"

"Oh shut up!" Cid grumbled. "You know what it does. Summoning meteor ain't gonna doing anything for Wutai so let it go."

"Oh…" Yuffie frowned and relaxed. "Fine, be that way. It would have been nice to add to my collection though."

"How about we get back to the ship and decide what to do there?" Cait suggested. "I've had enough of this place."

"Yes, a warm meal and long rest would do nicely right about now." Nanaki said in agreement. "Let's get back to the surface of the world."

* * *

It was a great relief to finally collapse on the deck of the Highwind. Though the trip back had not been near so treacherous, being that Vincent had found a safer route, it was still tiresome. The past few days seemed to have been nothing but endless muscle ache.

The sun had come up during our absence though, and was now showering the land with rays of sunlight and warmth. It turned out to be a nice day after all, on all accounts. Now there was just one thing left for me to do…

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Whew, here we go. One more chapter left. Woohoo, hope this all sufficed for everyone. I'm still convinced I could have done it better, but that's how I am as you all must know by now. I've been working like mad on schoolwork for the last 4 days and probably will continue to do so. Who knows when the next chapter will be out - hopefully soon - but every time I say that it ends up taking a month, so I better not say anything this time.

Have a nice day!

And Happy Easter (even though it isn't here yet)! Love you all, and thank you a thousand times over!


	15. Chapter 15: Adventure Ends, Eternity Beg...

**Chapter 15: **_Adventure Ends, Eternity Begins_

**Disclaimer:** … … …I don't own the rights to FF7.

To my reviewers: Well, this is it. I've had several more requests for a sequel since I finished this long ago, and it may bet that I'll change my mind and write one after all, but that is only if I can come up with a suitable plot. Writing sequels is risky business when one's predecessor was so succesful. However, I will never, I repeat never, write a lemon; I do not write them and that is final.

Now for the grand finale!

* * *

I stifled a yawn before the hot blaze of the bonfire and rested my head on a folded blanket. Every inch of me was howeling with sores, from muscles to bruised bones and broken skin, but nothing cried as loud as the inner thrill of victory. It was a silent celebration on the outside. No one had energy to speak much. Most had their thoughts on the long, and for once undisturbed, night's rest ahead of them; it was time to catch up on lost sleep, and more sleep, and - 

"Ouch!" I winced in wide eyed surprise as a foot caught my tender side. A lithe body went flailing to the ground beside me, howling in despair amidst a rain of pillows. She landed with a muffled "oof".

"Yuffie…" I groaned. _Where did she get all those pillows?_

A giggling 'oops' resounded from the mound she had collapsed into.

I poked her in the side and rolled over onto my back to look up at the sky with a satisfied sigh.. "Isn't it wonderful knowing for once that you can sleep in?"

"Goddamn right it is." Cid offered nonchallanly as he wrestled with a log for a comfortable sleeping position, a battle he was evidently losing. "I'm aimin' for at least ten hours. Any one who gets it in their head to wake me a minute sooner is gonna find themselves on the pointy end of ol' Gospel here."

"Aw shit, with da smell ya been putten off, ain't nobody gonna come near ya for a week." Barret muttered.

Cid jerked his head at his burly companion and snickered, "Yer not exactly smellin like roses either, old timer."

"Who you callin old?" Barret retorted, sitting up sharply.

"What? Yer hearin' goin' too?" Cid grinned.

"Why you son of a-"

A stick whistled through the air, knocking Barret square in the forehead as he was rearing from the ground, bounced off and grazed Cid's nose, before disappearing into the shrubbery. Sephiroth's voice purred from his distant place at the edge of the firelight, "If our two senior citizens would kindly shut up, the rest of us might actually get some sleep - a foriegn concept perhaps to some present."

Barret and Cid shared a look as their combined attention averted hostily to Sephiroth. The 'senior citizens' put their heads together in an urgent exchange of whisperings and incongruous hand signals that eventually excellerated into an apparent arguement over whose plan of disposal was better.

Sephiroth smilred wryly where he lay, his back propped against a tree and eyes closed unperturbed; the masamune rest at his right within arm's reach.

Yuffie's unladylike snoring broke the extended silence a short time later until someone, possibly myself, surreptitiously stuffed a blanket in her face. This, of course, woke her in an irritable mood that escalated into a preposterous accusation regarding my recent behavior. At my denying of the charges I was unjustly attacked, and as a result we both went tumbling across the ground perilously close to the bonfire. The mentioned obstruction forced the skirmish to end prematurely in a temporary stalement to be addressed at a later date. We returned to our respective bedrolls thereafter.

Over time the quiet rustling and stir of unrest around camp releaxed and only the gentle crackling of flames remained, and possibly the indistinct whisperings of two old timers plotting Sephiroth's demise. My brow furrowed indecisively at the harsh sounds emanating from their vacinity and I strained my ears further to hear;

"Damn it, Barret...bullshit...I'm tellin' you it's..."

"don't know where...pulled that shit out of...head up yo ass...can't even see..."

I smirked and shook my head lightly. _Or, maybe they're just arguing._

I gazed over the various forms strewn about within the light of the fire and took a silent role call. Nanaki was rolled over on his side and had fallen asleep long before anyone else. Yuffie was next to me, obviously. Then there was Barret and Cid, still engrossed in their debate of what I couldn't possibly imagine across the way. Cait Sith was sitting motionlessly beneath a tree to her left. Vincent and Lucrecia, like Nanaki, had fallen asleep long ago and were entwined in each other's arms to the right. My brow darted upwards at that and I sighed dreamily.

_How romantic..._

An owl hooted obnoxiously from the darkness, breaking my delightful daze, and I discovered that I was grinning widely. Vincent was happy! For the first time since I'd known him he strode with a glow of pride and joy. The shadows that had once concealed him from the world had been banished away by a stunning brightness in the form of Lucrecia, and beautiful she certainly was. What had begun as a tragedy had ended in triumph. Some things turned out right after all.

Which brought to mind my own predicament, though not in as brighta light. Somehow I'd ended up with Yuffie as a sleeping companion instead of Sephiroth, which seemed wrong on many levels, but I had too much pride to go chasing his coat tails.

I glanced his way, frowning. He was gazing at the sky, lost in his own little world apparently, of which I had not part. I wasn't about to embarrass myself by crawling to him for comfort; what did I need him for anyway?

I looked up too, as if I might catch a glimpse of what had captured his attention so fully. The night was cool and crisp, and the stars clear and sharp above. They were twinkling merrily as my eyelids, unbidden, began to droop. Exhaustion had crept up on me in unnatural haste and I was asleep in mere seconds.

* * *

_Mist…white mist as far as I could see. I looked down at my feet and the white, cottony air beneath, and I stood on a cloud. I was dreaming obviously. People didn't stand on clouds, so why were my thoughts so coherent and real like? Almost too real. It was humid here, the air thick with moisture - moisture that I could feel against my skin…I could hear the distant murmur of voices._

_Barret and Cid maybe?_

_Perhaps in some reality it was, but what I was hearing was not the whispering of the living, but that of ghosts; the sound was haunting. I felt the piercing weight of eyes watching me. They were talking about me, whoever they were. Their presence was everywhere, yet I couldn't see them._

_"Hello?" I called out. My voice echoed back with startling alacrity, as if I were standing in a canyon._

_A veil of silence draped itself eerily upon the dream. The beat of my heart reverberated loudly in my ears._

_"Tifa."_

_That voice I knew. I spun around hastily, seeking out the source, but I was still alone that I could tell. "Aeris?"I called hesitantly._

_"I'm waiting for you." She spoke musically through the haze, and I could feel the energy of her smile. "Come to the city. We have much to talk about. Don't bring him though," she giggled, "he'll just be a nuisance."_

_The words repeated themselves inside my head again and again until they were so faint that I could barely make them out._

_A soft whiteness wrapped around me and I felt myself rising._

* * *

My eyes snapped open and I sat up alert. The words last spoken were still in my mind as my eyes adjusted to the dimness of night. The fire had been reduced to glowing embers in the passage of time, which could've been anywhere from two to five hours for all I knew. I was not apt at guessing time from gauging the sun's position. 

I sat a moment, pondering the elements of the dream and what they might entail; I was farily certain of that already though. My mind was not hard to come to decision on whether to stay or go. The Cetra city was not far from here and the others were fast asleep. It would be nothing to slip away unnoticed and return before they ever knew I was gone.

I threw aside the blanket and felt an unpleasant rush of cold air against my exposed skin as I stood. Goosebumps materialized on my flesh and I sucked in a sharp breath, biting back a curse. My lower lip caught between my teeth as I glanced about, searching for some means of clothing to keep the chill at bay.

After spending a breathless minute navigating the perilous lay of unconscious bodie, always at the verge of breaking my cover, I found a coat - Sephiroth's ironically. I almost didn't take it, knowing how attached to it he tended to be, and that if he were to discover it missing whilst I was away he would likely come in immediate pursuit. However, impatience, and the lack of desire in making the dangerous dance through camp again, won me over and I accepted the coat. It was long on me, brushing the ground at my feet as I walked.

Relief was just beginning to set in as I approached the edge of the trees, and evidently I was careless, thinking the worst was over. It may have been, but I wasn't out of the water yet, and in my haste to get away unseen I tripped up on a tree root. A strangled sound gurgled up from the base of my throat, sounding out eerily loud in the stillness.

My body stiffened up in anticipation of being caught as I lay upon the ground, but as waited apprehensively for the sounds of movement, none came. A good minute passed before I finally mustered up the courage to creep to my feet and slowly, carefully make my way into the woods.

I started North, clomping through the underbrush a little more liesurely once I was well beyond earshot of camp. It wasn't long before I heard the metallic clang of shovels on stone in the distance. A smile lit across face. Bone Village was just up ahead, whim meant I wasn't lost, and that the sleeping forest was just on the other side of the village; The City of the Ancients, my destination, was just beyond that.

Three miners were out digging when I came through. They greeted me with corgal nods and continued diligently with their work without a word of question. Bone Village was accustomed to night owls, and they knew from the air ship anchored nearby that we were there.

The remainder of my journey was uneventful and fast. Not a fiend so much as showed its face to me along the way. Even the trip through the City was rather pleasant and abnormally silent. No voices haunted the buildings; no wind howled through the ruined buildings. It was truly peace on earth, for this night at least. It brought to me a feeling of security and relief as I made my way to Aeris' resting place, and I began to hope.

Then I came to the final bend before the lake, Aeri's grave, and all of my fears and uncertainties sprang to life. I froze midstep and couldn't find the will to go on. Forever was a long time. Was it the right thing to do? Did I even have the right to wish for forever just to be with him? And what if he changed his mind about me two hundred years from now?

A gust of wind snuck up from behind me and shoved me forward. Well, two hundred years was a while yet, and there was still the matter of getting that wish for eternity.

My steps were much more hesitant as I closed in upon my destination, and I took my time. When I came close enough that I could lean forward and peer into the widening path up ahead, I stopped and peaked from a modest distance. After a moment of debate and unease I forced myself into the clearing and walked towards the lake.

The water was serene an beautiful. I'd never seen it under a night sky before. The trees on the banks surround the lake glowed pale green, infused by the life stream, and their reflections shimmered on the surface of the water. I halted short of the shoreline and gazed into the endless depths silently.

A sudden flash of light to my left grabbed my attention and turned around sharply. My hands lifted automatically into battle stance, but there was no need.

An instant later Aeris was standing before me, a delighted smile on her face. "That's no way to greet a friend." She accused lightly, one brow darting upwards mischievously.

Any disquiet at Aeris' unorthodox arrival faded from my mind and I smiled easily in return. "Aeris!" I beamed, overjoyed, and scrutinized her curiously, "Why the dramatic entrance?"

"Oh, just for fun." She giggled with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I only get a few chances to pull off a trick like that after all."

"I see." I answered slowly, grinning, and we exchanged a brief embrace. A moment of awkward silence ensued as we both wrestled with where to begin. At last I cleared my throat and spoke uncertainly, "I...you called me, in a dream."

Aeris poked me gently in the stomach. "I didn't call you anywhere, as you well know. You called me."

"Oh…" I paused. My cheeks slowly turned a scarlet color. "Then…you know what I want to ask you?"

"Of course I know!" She cried, her hands planting on her hips. "You do remember that I told you, if you ever need help, anything at all, to come here, right? I've been with you all the way."

I looked away shame faced and wrapped my arms around my waist. "I don't mean to ask of you anything that you can't do, but I just…I - there is no other way."

Aeris acted taken back and her eyes sparkled with a merriment. "Who said anything about 'can't do'?"

I held my breath, not trusting to hope yet. "You mean…?"

She winked and nodded. "Yes, I do mean. I've been given permission to grant you eternal life." Her expression became grim, "But, it does come with a price. For starters, you can't have children,"

"-I don't care." I interrupted earnestly, overcome by a powerful sensation of surreal disbelief.

Aeris lifted a chastizing hand, commanding silence, and continued evenly, "There is another thing too. This gift carries with it a burden, but one necessary in order for you to carry the blessing as well. You know that I am - I was - the last in the bloodline of the Cetra. However, we, the others and myself, have concluded that you might carry on the legacy through a transferal of powers. It isn't the same as you being a Cetra, but you will inherit our responsibility, as well as the abilities to carry it out."

I nodded, listening intently.

"This will bind you to the planet, like me and all Cetra are, only it will be through _us _and our power; you will be able to hear the planet's cries, and you will possess the power to guide the life stream. In essence, you will replace us as earth's guardian as the successor to our gifts. It is the only way to ensure that the planet is secure, with the protection of both the spirit world and the mortal one. That will be your task in exchange for eternity, got it?"

"Yeah," I replied softly. "I think so."

"There is no going back once you've decided, and I can't say it won't be hard - the planet has much healing to do still." Aeris warned warily. She forced a smile, "I don't mean to dissuade you, it's just..."

I shook my head lightly, "No, it's alright." I murmured. Memories of Aeris when she had been alive, and the cries of the planet that had haunted her day and night surfaced in the forefront of my mind. Yet in the shadow of my heart's desire, it seemed merely a small ramifacation in a much larger, beautiful picture. There were the occasionally psychotic scientiest who relished in experimenation on beings like the Cetra too, but as I was not one by blood, I was not worried on that part.

It was a daunting responsibility to face and one that I wasn't steadfastly sure I could bear at this very moment, but I had hope for the future. _Someone_ should carry on the legacy of the Cetra. Maybe I could. I know that I would try, for Aeris' sake if anything.

"I'll do it." I said at last, nodding decisively, whether I felt it or not.

"You are sure?" Aeris inquired. "This is a big decision to make on such short notice. I'm sorry to throw this on you so unexpectedly, but I will always be with you, my spirit and my memory, to guide you. And," she smiled quirkily. "there is Sephiroth too."

"I hope so," I conveyed quietly, biting my lip out of nervous habit.

"Good then." Aeris grinned. "It will be up to you now, and the others, to look after the planet. The planet will give its own guidance, and in turn you will guide them: Sephiroth, Vincent, Lurcrecia. Better also make sure that the black materia is safe and in safe hands."

"We will." I said sternly. "You can count on us."

"I know." She replied. "Are you ready?"

I breathed in deeply and gave a curt nod. Aeris lifted her hand and with a swift sweeping motion through the air, a glimmer of light appeared. My eyes closed firmly against the brightness that exploded forth as the spell took effect, enveloping me completely in a rush of cool air enfused with powerful energy. It coursed through my body like ice water at first, putting my hairs on end, and then it became a warm embrace. Countless presences passed through me, sharing memories and visions, and each one voicing earnest encouragment as I was slowly drawn into their circle.

The sensation came to a close abruptly and I dropped back to the ground, unaware that I'd ever left it. My skin tingled with renewed energy and an unfamiliar life-giving power that seemed to reach out to any and all things that thrived; I was connected. Then the force of the voices and cries compounded into single body, so loud that I thought my head would burst from the strain.

Aeris rushed forward to support me as fell to my knees, reaching for my temples in pain. She whispered something inaudible amidst the cacaphony of sounds exploding inside my head, and they abruptly silenced. My throat expelled a tiny moan as I sat back on the ground and gasped in relief.

"I'm sorry - I should've warned you about that." Aeris sighed. "It'll be frustarting at first, learning to put them out of your mind, but with practice you'll be able to control the voices and when you want to hear them. Are you ok now?"

I rose to my feet slowly, flexed my fist and threw a few punches into the air. "Refreshed and energized." I concluded.

Aeris was about to respond when her gaze slipped pass me. Her eyes shifted slyly back to mine, a silly grin on her face. "Well, looks like it's time for me to depart. Cloud says hello, by the way - the same silly boy he always was."

"You're going already?" I asked sadly.

"Yep, my time here is limited. It was good to see you again though. I'm glad we had this chat." Her expression saddened for a moment. "I wish I could see the others, maybe some other time."She murmured. "But I must be off. Goodbye!"

"Bye, Aeris." I waved as she slowly faded, becoming translucent until there was nothing there but empty air.

I was left in complete silence, all alone, a glamorous smile creeping onto my face. The sheer magnitude of what had happened, and how seemlessly it had happened, was slowly dawning on me. It begged to question whether it was truly real or the figment of a very vivid dream. If it was a dream, I hoped never to leave it.

Some time passed and nothing but the wind changed. The reality of it crashed down around me with force and I twirled carelessly in place, laughing as the world melted together in a blissful blur. _Forever...I've been given forever to love and be loved._

The faint crunch of a boot on gravel halted my celebration mid-sway as my heart lurched into my throat. No other sound followed, but there was no denying the nearby presence of another. I waited breathlessly, squinting into the darkness and clencing my fists as a protective measure. There was only the breeze in return, sweeping around me softlyand stirring my hair briefly before moving on its course.

Gradually my fears abated and my arms tentatively relaxed at my sides. It was probably only an animal gow long gone I suspected.

"Letting down your guard somewhat prematurely, aren't we?" A smooth, cunning voice emerged from the shadows.

I nearly jumped out of my skin lurching around so hard. Recognition only registered after I had a moment to compose myself and locate the offending party. My eyes locked firmly on a familiar figure as Sephiroth glided out from behind a tree and approached the clearing, his mouth upturned in a slight grin.

"You - you bastard!" I exclaimed, my voice faltering in inner relief.

"I must say it was vastly entertaining watching you stand there like a petrified rabbit." He commented casually, his attention cast momentarily aside as he polished his already gleaming sword.

My jaw went slack in abject horror, "I was not!" I retorted defensively and pretended to resolutely looked away, ignoring him.

His eyes flashed with amusement. "Oh but you were, and as you very well should be, now that I've found you." He uttered, his eyes narrowing. "You should know better than to believe that your departure would go unnoticed."

I scowled in frustration. "And how _did_ you know I'd gone?"

"One can't help but notice being kicked in the shin by a hard, steal toed boot." He said through gritted teeth.

My forehead wrinkled quizzically, "No, that's not possible." I maintained. "I avoided everyone in camp." _Didn't I?_

"Tell that to the welt on my shin." He answered tartly. "Lucky that I am such a talented actor, and that I was able to follow after you had gone, completely unaware."

I crossed my arms. "And why did you need to follow me? I take care of myself just fine."

"Well, it perks one's curiosity when someone goes sneaking off during the night, obviously to avoid being seen or raising questions, which might lend one to think she is hiding something." He answered tonelessly. "It tends to grab my attention, especially when the party in question is you, love."

"I'm not you're prisoner. I don't have to tell you anything if I don't want to, and I don't have to stay within your sight at all times either." I protested. "Sneaking off is perfectly reasona-"

I was cut off mid-sentence as Sephiroth snatched up my wrist in his hand and pulled me sharply towards him so that our eyes were only inches apart. He looked dangerous in the pale light of the glowing trees, and his eyes seemed to radiate their energy as they set firmly on my own. "Oh, but you are mine, and I'm am exceedingly jealous and selfish in what I consider mine".

"This is going to take some getting used to." I said dryly.

"I can get used to it just fine." He offered quietly and grasped a thick lock of my hair in his hand, inhaling the scent with a contented sigh. "But," he paused and pulled back, his tone on a more serious note, "why didn't you tell me?"

"It was my business and I didn't want any chances of someone trying to...stop me." I explained hesitantly. "It was Aeris who told me to come alone though. Mayve to avoid an uncomfortable confrontation between the two of you."

Sephiroth seemed to consider that for a moment and eventually nodded in reluctant agreement, "I suppose that will suffice." He said. "But next time tell me. I won't stop you."

I smirked. "That's because you _can'_t stop me."

"Oh?" His brow darted skeptically at that, "we'll see about that."

A voice shouted out from behind us. "What the hell you waitin' for, boy? Get _on with it!_"

Our heads turned simultaneously at the unexpected outburst. We whirled to face the intruder, none other than Cid Highwind leaning against a tree with arms crossed over his chest and a freshly lit cigarette at the corner of his mouth, and I felt a touch of color come to my cheeks. Sephiroth went completely rigid.

"Well now, seems this old geezer can still hold is own sneakin' up on two lovebirds gettin' ready to nest, eh?" He chuckled. His gaze flickered regretfully at me, "Sorry Tif, but a man's got to do what he's got to do when his manhood's been brought into question by a young pup."

Sephiroth's eyes were pulsating. "When I'm through with you, Highwind, you'll be begging for death."

I tried to hide my smile, but failed and buried my face in Sephiroth's shoulder instead. It seemed that Cid and Barret really had been up to something.

"No one gets away with callin' me a fuckin' senior citizen." Cid replied steadily. He idly checked his watch, cast a look over his shoulder, and then stared back at us expectatnly. "Well, we're waiting."

"We're?" I echoed.

"Didn't think he'd leave da rest of us behind, huh?" Barret spoke up from behind Cid. Slowly the others materialized from their various hiding places, eyes glistening sheepishly - or eagerly - depending on who you were looking at.

"Yup. We're all here for the show." Yuffie announced exuberantly from the high branch of a tree.

My eyes gradually picked out each one of my friends, all seemingly waiting for something that I had apparently missed being apart of. I grew more red by the second.

I looked up at Sephiroth in confusion, uncertain of how to proceed. He was beginning to closely resemble a rabbit himself; a rabbit surrounded by hungry wolves. I could just see the flush beneath his regularly pale skin.

Barret frowned deeply, "It's high time ya come through man. You gonna be a _real_ man now, or do I have to-"

"Alright!" Spephiroth snapped through grinding teeth, his hands tightening into fists. "I won't forget this, mind you." He directed his finger at them, Cid and Barret. "There will be repercussions rest assured."

"I don't doubt it." Cid grinned.

"Someone mind telling me what this is all about?" I demanded in embarrassment, eyeing each person accusingly from beneath lowered eye lashes. "I can't help but notice that I am the only one who doesn't seem to know what's going on."

"Tifa," Sephiroth shook his head in mock disappointment, "-I'm astonished by your blindness, I should think that you of all people would know what this is about."

"Enlighten me." I said crossly.

Sephiroth shot both Cid and Barret a whitering glare before turning to face me. "Tifa…I-" He started, his voice breaking for an instant.

"On your knees boy!" Cid growled. Someone was clearly enjoying this.

Sephiroth restrained his hand as it reached of its own accord to his sword, and eventually it complied. He seemed terribly flustered, but I couldn't blame him under the circumstances.

My eyes gradually widened as his hand slipped into his pocked and pulled a small, black velvet box. I felt my heart melt into a pool at my feet as realization hit and my lips parted slowly with a breath of disbelief. Now I _did_ feel like the fool. Barret had even told me that Sephiroth would propose to me at some point, but some part of me had doubted to the very end. _No more, never again._

I gazed up at him fervently and tried to force the tears of joy back, but they persisted stubbornly and leaked silently from the corners of my eyes.

"I'd be honored my lady if you, Tifa Lockheart," He paused to open the box with shaking fingers, and cleared his throat, "would be...my wife."

At first I didn't even notice the ring, my attention was so intently on him, but I spared enough time for a glance. It was silver and gold entwined in beautiful Celtic design around a small stone the color of Sephiroth's eyes, and polished to a brillian sheen. "Yes. For ever and ever, yes." I answered hoarsely and collapsed to my knees. My hands touched his face gently and I leaned in to kiss him. .

His arms looped around my waist without hesitation and I wrapped myself around him in return. Everything outside that moment vanished from my mind. It was a long time, perhaps eons, before I noticed the commotion that had erupted around us.

The serene night was torn assunder by the unrestrained outbursts of joy and encouragement from the peanut gallery. I wouldn't have been surprised if Bone Village had also heard the obnoxious hooting and hollering that echoed across the woods. Yuffie was brining down the stars with her shrill cheering.

"Yo, come up for air!" Barret yelled after a bit.

The both of us started laughing mid-kiss, and were forced to stop and hide our faces in slight embarrassment.

Sephiroth got to his feet then, pulling me up with him. "I hope you like it." He said and slipped the ring on my finger.

"I love it!" I exclaimed softly. "It reminds me of your eyes."

"That's why I picked it." He asserted nervously.

I took a moment to admire the brilliant piece of silver and gold that encircled my finger. I would have to get him one with a garnet stone.

"Is that it?" Yuffie blurted out.

Sephiroth smirked dryly and I rolled my eyes, laughing.

* * *

_ 1 year later…_

My legs stretched out across the stone bench where I sat beneath a weeping willow. The soft glow of the moon shot tiny tendrils of light through the canopy of leaves. It was warm and humid, the air laden with smells of sweet and spice.

One had to visit the garden at night to appreciate all its secrets. Many flowers were best admired during the night when their scent was most potent. I came here for that very reason quite often when the moon was a beacon.

There was the faint whisper of a breeze out, a comfort against the heavy warmth. The simple white, silk nightdress that I wore was necessary in this climate, I'd been out here countless times in the same garment and never once caught a chill.

The garden was enclosed by fifteen feet high, ivy grown stone walls. It was dilapidated with time in many places, littered with broken or cracked statues that were as old as the walls. Who knows how long it had been abandoned for before Sephiroth had inherited it and the mansion it belonged too, but the state of overgrowth within reflected a severe lack of tending.

With Anne's help I was able to bring the garden back under relative control. The interweaving stone pathways were cleared so that one could actually navigate them. Everything was neatly trimmed and tenderly cared for now.

This had become my personal area. Sephiroth scarcely came here, which was unfortunate for it would've been nice to have someone to share it with. I almost felt guilty that I was hoarding the entire thing to myself. That wasn't entirely true as many of the servants came here on off hours.

My thoughts wandered, caught in the flurry of time as I looked back on a year before. Nanaki had devised a genius plan for discarding the petrified Jenova, which was immediately put into effect. It would be a while yet before it was put into effect as it required building a rocket to send her into space. Cid was taking on the task with funding from Reeven and the new Shin-Ra government.

The same thought occurred for dealing with the black materia, but as brilliant as it may have seemed, Nanaki doubted that it would work. He hypothesized that the black materia would simply be drawn back by the lifestream and would eventually return to the planet. So, that idea was discarded.

Other possibilities were presented, all of which would work. It came down to a vote between burying it deep in the sea or in the crater. The crater idea was not so well revised however, and several problems arose after closer examination. This left us with burying it in the sea. _Literally_ burying it. All maps were destroyed thereafter, and considering how vast and the depth of the ocean, we figured the chances were slim that anyone would track it down.

I yawned, not so much out of sleepiness, but boredom. I was yearning for another's presence. Even Lucrecia would have sufficed, but both her and Vincent had retired early.

They lived in the right wing of the mansion. The house was far too big for just Sephiroth and myself, even with the hired hands who lived along side us. It was on the surrounding grounds that the four of us had gotten married in a joint celebration. Half the country side had shown up for it - we were hailed heros by then - as well as our core group of friends. No one was conscious until well into the afternoon the next day.

Everyone had warmed up to Sephiroth by then, and for his part some of his cold exterior had melted. He pretended to be above the child's play that the Cid and Barret, and Yuffie, enjoyed, but he admitted later that against all probable odds, the three were growing on him. He even took some satisfaction in getting them back from time to time. There was no end to the pranks and gags between the four of them these days.

Yuffie was still overcoming her primal fears of being cut into tiny pieces by Sephiroth's sword - he especially relished in tormenting her with threats of immense bodily harm. There was little sympathy for her case however, as she gave as good as she got, and somtimes better. "A menace" Sephiroth had dubbed her following the episode of his sword's disappearance, along with a few other of his personal items consisting predominantly of his clothes - she had been generous enough to leave his pants though.

It had turned out to be an eventful night, our wedding, and when I say night, I mean _night_. Midnight began the drinking contest at Cid and Barret's urging, only to be shamed by an unexpected defeat by the local florist. The sixty year old woman wasn't even tipsy when Vincent finally backed down with a slight swagger. Barret and Reeve had long surrendered to her. Cid had been sidetracked by the demands of his daughter to administor a pony ride, and Sephiroth had declined taking part altogether.

Nanaki was content to watch from the sidelines as the night unfolded, keeping an eye on the kids while the adults played, and Yuffie was maintaining her soberiety for the greater good of plotting and deviating while her targets were incapasitated. Shera and Lucrecia were attempting to keep the ruckus to a minimal, and I was entertaining the guests with my meager piano skills.

After an exhausting month of fighting for the life of the planet and every soul on it, we were all needing to let loose. It was a much needed break from the ordinary routine of daily life.

The difficult part was telling my friends about my meeting with Aeris and the consequences that it entailed. They had all understood though, as if they had known before I did, and I knew then that things would be alright. It would be hard as they got older, but nothing would change the depth of our friendship.

As for my inherited Cetra abilities, well, they were behaving themselves for the most part. I could command the voices when I needed them, but so far there was no reason to. The planet was healing.

The creaking of the garden gate broke my train of thoughts abruptly. I glanced over my shoulder, listening, and was met by a heavy silence. I frowned thoughtfully and slipped off the bench, padding quietly across the stone back towards the entrace to investigate.

It was a vast garden with interweaving paths all over so it was possible that whoever the intruder was, they may have been able to make their way through the garden without me hearing. They didn't know it as well as I did though, I thought smugly. If they thought to sneak up on me they had something else coming.

I darted off down the trail leading deeper into the gardens where things were not so tame. Leaping the small pond in the back, I landed softly on the other side and waited beneath the shelter of lilac trees, watching. The leaves rustled faintly in the breeze, and that was all the sound I heard.

I was beginning to get impatient when someone assailed me from behind without warning. Aleather glove clamped over my eyes as the other hand took a firm hold around my waist, subduing any attempt to escape. His breath trickled down the back of my neck as he hovered there silently.

He chuckled when I started to squirm impatiently.

"I know it's you." I smiled dryly. "Quit it."

"Do you?" He challenged, his hand still covering my eyes.

I sighed, "Are you going to let me go? I can't see."

Again he laughed. "I don't know if I should if I'm going to have to run you down again. This is quite the jungle you have here."

"I did almost best you, didn't I?" I asked, daring to hope.

"Almost." He answered flatly.

"I promise I won't run." I said coyly.

"Of course you won't." He concurred and let go, but only for an instant before turning me around to face him.

His features were accented by the moonlight as it reflected off his hair and eyes. He stood before me like a knight in shining armor. "So, what brings you to my humble abode, hmm?"

"You, of course." He responded, his gaze intent upon mine. "I find myself requiring your presence now rather than later. You've been vanishing on me lately - didn't we go over this a year ago?"

"You're tired." I noted absently. "I'm sorry I left."

"I'm not." He replied coolly and pressed his lips to my knuckles. "It is more peaceful here than anywhere else."

I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest. "You should come here more often. It gets lonely sometimes."

"I should." He agreed. "And despite my lack of affection for flowers, I can't deny that it is quite a magnificent garden."

We stood motionless for several minutes, relaxing into each other's embrace.

"Look." Sephiroth said, breaking the silence.

I looked up. A star streaked across the sky and disappeared into nothing; A wishing star. Someone else's wishing star tonight though. I had already had mine and I was content to keep it.

"Has it come true?" Sephiroth asked softly, "The wish you made the first night of our journey?"

"Yes." I paused and looked up at him quizzically. "Why?"

He smiled faintly, looking past me. "Just curious."

In an instant it came to me. "You knew."

"I did." He admitted.

"How?" I inquired.

"I heard your thoughts as clear as day - I swear that I was not at all reading your mind at the time either." He explained. "I don't now how or why it happened."

"At the time?" I lifted a scrutinizing brow, smirking.

He shifted nervously. "I may be guilty of that in one or two instances, but not that time."

"It was silly." I said softly, shaking my head.

"No." He interjected curtly. "No, it was not at all. It took me by surprise actually. You proved yourself a fine actress that night - I never noticed that that smile of yours was only a disguise until then."

I sighed. "I had a lot of practice."

"Yes, well, after I knew it was not so difficult to see the truth beyond it. I found that to be very irritating at the time, that you of all people should harbor such bitterness." He said, his eyes narrowing as if still befuddled by it. "I made a vow to myself that night and it seems that I've kept it."

My eyes brightened with intrigue. "What vow was that?"

"To make your wish come true, and no longer have to see that brittle mask. It doesn't suit one of your beauty." He said.

I blushed madly. "I wonder sometimes, whatever happened to the cold, tenacious Sephiroth you were known to be before Jenova? You changed when you returned, you changed a lot."

He nodded vaguely. " I did indeed, and you managed to needle your way beyond the false exterior of my person. I was prepared to shield myself from the world - you most of all, for you were a threat to me from the start. Evidently I failed, though I'm not sorry for it now."

"Of course you failed. No one can resist my charms." I teased.

"You are more right than you think." He answered. His thoughtful expression vanished and turned to mischief. "Now, let's make the best of the night and our, as you would put it, romantic surroundings, shall we?"

"I thought you were tired?" I giggled.

"Me? Tired? Never!" He exclaimed. " I've never been more engergized. Might I remind you that you were the one who said I was tired, not me." A twinkle of anticipation rested in his eyes.

"I'd hate to disappoint you then." I responded. Mustering up all of my strength and speed, I planted my leg behind both of his and pulled him the ground. My triumph was not long lived however, for he reacted instantly and had me pinned beneath him before I could blink an eye.

"Nice try." He said grimly. "But you'll have to do better."

"I'm happy just knowing I got half way." I stated proudly,

Sephiroth entrapped me in another one of his irresistible kisses before I could speak another word. He did that often, claiming I talked too much, which I may or may not be guilty of. I suspect it was more for his own pleasure however..

Upon releasing my lips far too soon, Sephiroth began to say what I'd just been thinking of. You-"

"Talk too much." I finished for him.

He smiled amusedly and buried his face in my hair. "My love for you shall never cease, Tifa." He sighed in contentment. "I never knew that one could be so blissfully happy."

"I love you too." I replied and kissed him again.

* * *

Eternity would test our loyalty and our love for each other, but I felt we would be alright. Love that is real and true doesn't fade if it is properly nurtured. It takes work - everything does - and a constant reminder not to take for granted what you have. Every day I wake up and tell myself to remember what I have and how important it is that I never forget it, because that is the doom of love. 

Forever is a long time, but everything has its end. Maybe ours will come when the planet finally goes to rest. Until then, we take comfort in each other and the responsibility we have been given. That is a worthy cause to live for, and keep living for.

* * *

** Author's Final Notes:** Omg, it's finished! I can't believe it…collapses in relief YES! Eh, is it any good? I feel terrible, it's just taken me forever to do this and I have to admit, embarrassingly enough, I've been somewhat avoiding it. This chapter haunted me. Well, not exactly, but I've been worried about it, wondering if I'll ever get around to finishing it, which it looks like I finally have. As for another story…hmmm, I don't know what will happen. Any suggestions? I may not write another one for a while 

Thank you very much to all of you! I'm overjoyed that everyone has liked this story so well. I only wish I could have done better hehehe - well, I always do. No way of helping that. I hope this satisfies you all after such a tremendous wait. I'll emphasize again that I feel very bad about taking so long. My horse had a baby on May 25 though, so she's been taking up a lot of my time! Along with a great deal of other things, but that's no excuse! I know, it should've come out sooner. It feels like I've had a 4 month long writer's block that has just finally been lifted.

Ahem, well, I've rambled on for long enough. Thank you all once again, and to everyone who still stops in once in a while to read this - your encouraging reviews are what keep me going.

Tibi gratias habeo!


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